Image via Twitter.com/@merrionstreetHe's also hopeful restrictions will be around the 1 or 2 level mark by Easter.
Leo Varadkar says he is hopeful crowds could be allowed back at matches and concerts by next Summer.
The Tánaiste thinks 2021 will see the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the rollout of vaccines and mass testing.
He said he believes Covid-19 restrictions will be at around the Level 1 or 2 stage by next Easter, before life begins to return to normal in Ireland.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, he outlined what the first six months of 2021 could look like in terms of dealing with the coronavirus.
He said: "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.
"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."
Mr Varadkar said things will still be difficult in the first quarter of 2021 when vaccinations are being rolled out, but things will be "starting to look a bit more normal again" in the second quarter.
On whether international travel will resume by next summer, he said: "Oh I hope so, I'm starting to look very pale."
It comes amid warnings that the 2021 tourism season will be serious trouble if our vaccination programme does not move “very, very quickly” in the New Year.
The Tánaiste said: "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."
