HAIRDRESSERS HAVE BEEN “very busy” over the weekend with longer hours and extra appointments ahead of restrictions which could close their doors, the president of the Irish Hairdressers Federation (IHF) has said. 

Danielle Kennedy said Friday and Saturday were “very busy days”, with some salons normally closed on Sundays opening their doors to take in more clients. 

“I know some salons did open yesterday as well. My own salon is open from 9am to 8pm today and hopefully tomorrow, all going well, to accommodate everyone,” Kennedy told TheJournal.ie.  

“Although we don’t have an official announcement yet, we have had a bit of time to prepare for the eventuality of closing.”  

Under Levels 4 and 5, hairdressers, barbers, beauticians and other indoor services would close.

Only essential retail and businesses held mostly outdoors could remain open in Level 4 and all non-essential retail and personal services are closed at Level 5. 

The government will meet today to finalise plans on bringing in stricter restrictions as the situation with Covid-19 in the country worsens.

It’s expected that a public announcement on any new restrictions will be made this evening, but Green Party leader Eamon Ryan indicated that the proposals will not begin for a number of days. 

Kennedy said health and safety is still “at the forefront” for salons, and she said the IHF would be disappointed if the industry had to close once again. 

“We would be disappointed because salons have proven to be very, very safe environments. There have been few cases of transmission attributed to salons in the country,” she said.  

“Most of our members all wore masks from the day we reopened and I think that made a really big difference to safety levels.” 

Kennedy said she hopes the restrictions will be “short and sharp” to allow the industry to get back up and going again. 

“The Budget has offered us a lot more support than what we had in March,” she said. 

There is the fear of if we close, how long will we close for and what businesses are going to get through it?

“At this point, people are more concerned about the unknown,” she said. “It has been a long weekend with everyone hanging around and planning for the worst-case scenario.”