Dylan Bradshaw says he now doesn't expect hairdressers to reopen until at least mid-April.
The prominent salon operator says the 'black market' for haircuts is booming while businesses such as his remain closed.
It comes as the Government says the reopening of the country after March 5th will be cautious and conservative.
The reopening of schools and construction are said to be the Government’s top priorities, with Leo Varadkar saying the likes of golf and outdoor meetings of two households could also resume.
However, the Tánaiste also said he expects personal services like hairdressers and barbers to remain closed for quite a while longer.
On today's Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Bradshaw said he's not surprised at that delay based on how they've been treated over the past year.
He said: “I think as an industry we’ve proven ourselves a very health-conscious environment for people to come and get their hair done and their services provided.
"Give us the environment we can control, and we can take care of business and the client. It’s as simple as that."
Reopening
During the brief December reopening, Mr Bradshaw said his businesses saw around 5,500 clients.
Management were contacted by contact tracers after two of those customers tested positive for COVID-19.
Mr Bradshaw said: "We contacted our team that looked after them… they had their testing, and they were fine.
"That’s down to how we run our operation - the space, PPE and how we look after our clients."
With businesses now closed for at least another month or two, Mr Bradshaw said the industry is dying.
He also pointed to some hairdressers and barbers ignoring the rules and offering 'lockdown haircuts'.
He observed: “We’re talking about mid-April, if we’re lucky, to get reopen… we closed in late March last year, and we’ve been open four-and-a-half months over that period.
"We have outstanding bills, and we run a large operation ourselves.
“Let’s call it out honestly: the reason why the numbers blew up is because people were mixing socially… it wasn’t because hair salons and businesses didn’t take responsibility for what they were doing.”
