Hairdressers, barbers and nail bars will remain closed until July 20.
It had been hoped that the further easing of coronavirus restrictions announced today would include such services.
But Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said they will remain closed until phase four of the Government’s road map because they are considered high risk in terms of close contact with customers.
“Hairdressers, barbers, nail bars, personal services... I know a lot of people would like to see those services reopen but it remains that they will not reopen until phase four.”
“That is for a very good reason - everyone has been to the hairdresser and been to the barber so they know what that involves. It involves bring in close contact or face to face contact with another person for half an hour or even longer. That makes it a relatively high risk engagement.
“So, over the next week or two we will be led by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and we will redefine phases three and four but as of now, the date stays the same.”
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said no further information is available on when weddings can be held.
“We have no specific recommendations in phase two on numbers allowed to weddings.”
He said he understood the difficulties the situation presented to couples but social interactions associated with larger weddings risked spreading Covid-19.
