Should Ireland Have More Bank Holidays?
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So how much are you looking forward to having the day off on Monday? Having three days if you're not working Saturday or Sunday, if you're not rostered to work or you don't work those days. Just having that extra day on Monday for a long weekend. Could you have more of them in the year? Should we have more of them in the year? I saw Roderick O'Gorman, the Green Party, its leader last week, looking for an extra public holiday on top of the 10 we already have.
Why is the debate about bank holidays in Ireland relevant today?
But Richard Boyd Barrett, people before profit, you want how many additional public holidays?
Well, we want, ideally, we'd like to get to 13. Currently, we get 10 public holidays. And we brought a bill forward there a while ago. Now the government ruled it out of order because it would be a cost on the exchequer, they said, which is a way of killing things. But we were looking for three extra public holidays, which would bring us still a lot less than many across Europe, but the average is 12 and we're at 10. We're saying 13, but even to bring us to the EU average, I think would make a big difference to people's lives. That would say give us one bank holiday each month. And people, it does make a huge difference to people's just general sense of happiness and well-being. I think, to be honest, it would actually boost people's productivity if people have, you know, economic concerns, because I just think you're more energized when you have a decent break on a regular basis.
And we're way down the league table. I mean, like if you add statutory holidays in, we also have less than most countries in Europe. I mean, like to give some of the best examples, Austria have 25 statutory days and they have 13 public holidays, whereas we've 20 statutory days and only 10 public holidays. Other countries like Lithuania, very, very high. Croatia, Spain, all these countries, when you total it all up, are having four, five and six days more off between holidays and bank holidays.
I'm just looking at the list here. Cyprus gives 15 public holidays. Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Malta and Spain have 14. Notice the sunnier countries seem to have more public holidays perhaps at times. Exactly.
Appreciate the good weather.
The French only have 11, but beneath us, we actually have more than the Danes, the Netherlands and Scotland have nine and England and Wales only have eight.
Yeah, England, miserable, miserable.
But is there not a cost to business in particular doing this?
I think there's different estimates on it.
What proposals have been made for additional public holidays?
I mean, there's some estimates that it's a cost to some business. But on the other hand, I think Bridget's Day, there was an estimate that 1.5 billion extra, or no, sorry, not extra, but in total was spent on groceries and tourism and all that kind of stuff on Bridget's Day, which is the extra holiday we got a while ago.
In February.
In February. in February. So there is a huge boost as well in terms of tourism, retail expenditure, restaurants, you know, all sorts of people benefit. So I would say you gain what you, you gain on the swings, what you lose on the roundabouts.
Okay. Put on your headphones there, please, because we've got Damien McCarthy with us, Managing Director of HR Buddy, which is a HR consultancy firm. Damien, what do you make of this idea?
Well, look, Matt, I suppose, and good afternoon, Richard, as well. I suppose, floating the idea of, you know, more days off, you know, public holidays, it will always be received positively. Yes, there is EU countries with higher numbers than us, but regards to the league table, I suppose you're not comparing like for like. So if you take Spain, who may have 14 days or something like that, and we have 10, okay, we're behind them on the league table, but all 10 days are covered under the Organization of Working Act in Ireland. So you're paid for all 10 days, or you get a day in lieu, or you get double time if you go into work on the public holiday.
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