Varadkar made the comments speaking to the Dáil on Thursday.
Leo Varadkar has said that when the country reaches a point where restrictions in place to combat the spread of Covid-19 can be relaxed, it will be done "over a number of months".
Speaking on Thursday, Varadkar told the Dáil that the government would like to set out a roadmap before 5 May on how the existing Covid-19 restrictions might be eased.
Ireland's current set of restrictions are due to remain in place until 5 May, although it is expected that those restrictions, or at least a version of them, will be extended beyond that date.
"I don't yet know if we'll be able to relax restrictions on 5 May, but I do know that if we can at all, it is going to be gradual and happen over a number of months," Varadkar told the Dáil.
"As we know from Asia, they may even need to be re-imposed again as only a scientific breakthrough - a vaccine or an effective antiviral medicine - will truly allow life to go back to being as it was."
Current measures state that everyone must stay home except in specific circumstances, which include travel to and from work for essential work, as well as trips to the shop for essential goods and daily exercise within a two-kilometre radius of a person's home.
An update on Ireland's current Covid-19 situation will arrive later on Thursday evening, with an update on the number of confirmed cases set to be released by the Department of Health.
