The Tánaiste says sporting and music events could be back on the cards by next summer.
Leo Varadkar said he is confident the pandemic will be over by next year, with life looking a little more normal by the summer.
It comes after Enniskillen native Margaret Keenan became the first member of the public to be vaccinated outside of a clinical trial yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, the Government has pledged to roll out the vaccine “within days” if it is approved by European regulators later this month.
Topic picture, symbol photo: Corona vaccine. A hand wrapped in a rubber glove holds a disposable syringe, syringe, vaccination syringe and a vaccination can, | usage worldwide"With the vaccine, with mass testing and with the knowledge of how to prevent and treat this virus, I think the pandemic will end in 2021,” said Mr Varadkar.
"We really have to be giving the vaccine for about two months before you really see it really make a difference – it's a two-dose vaccine.
"I think we're talking about something like late March or early April, around Easter, and that doesn't mean things will be back to normal by then, we'll be more in the Level One or Level Two space by then.
"If things work out with the summer, there's the possibility of returning to things like football matches and maybe even concerts and festivals and gatherings too.
"It's far from guaranteed, but that's the kind of timeline we're looking at."
A man wearing protective face mask walks through Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport as a requirement for people arriving in Ireland from overseas to alert the authorities where they will be self isolating has come into effect.The Tánaiste said he expects widespread international travel to resume in time for the summer, adding: “Oh I hope so, I'm starting to look very pale.”
“We have the European travel light system and I think in the second quarter of next year, will there be more green or amber zones, I think there will be.
“There is a seasonal element to coronavirus as well so there will be a few things going in our favour at that point.”
The Government yesterday announced 15-phase plan for the rollout of the vaccine in Ireland with nursing home staff and residents first in line for the jab.
