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The Taoiseach says the government will consider introducing a new banking holiday next year, in light of the challenges of 2020.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the idea has been discussed throughout the year as a means of acknowledging the sacrifices of the Irish people this year, with December 21 originally written.
However, despite speculation in October that it would be announced, the issue was not raised in Cabinet.
The leader of the Labor Party, Alan Kelly, would later accuse the government of “bottling” the decision. Micheál Martin rejected that notion at the time, saying the issue had never been raised.
“Yesterday I didn’t have a bank holiday date in mind,” he said. “I don’t know where that came from. There was a lot more on my mind than granting the bank holiday, I can assure you. “
However, speaking at a pre-Christmas briefing with reporters, Mr. Martin said the idea will be considered.
Public holidays
He said it was one of many ideas that could be examined to recognize people’s work this year. However, he said other ideas could also be considered.
“I think there is a potential, yes, that we could do in terms of reflecting and recognizing the work of many workers in different fields and in different sectors, and to which I referred earlier,” he said.
In Europe, only Hungary, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (eight) have fewer holidays than Ireland (nine) and, globally, only Mexico has fewer holidays (seven).
At the higher end, Austria, Sweden, Poland, and Portugal have 13 each, though some European countries don’t make up for missed vacations that fall on weekends.
The Tourism Recovery Task Force said earlier this year, among its recommendations, that an additional bank holiday should be considered in the off-season to boost the ailing tourism sector.
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