EDITORIAL: We need more Bank Holidays in Ireland!

At the beginning of this week we see the return of a new bank holiday which was only introduced in 2023, the St. Brigid’s Day bank holiday Monday.

I myself have felt the brunt of Ireland’s lack of public holidays (when compared with other European countries) as my partner is French and working there.

They celebrate 11 public holidays in France each year, but we in Ireland are catching up as the addition of St. Brigid’s Day brings us up to ten. Prior to the additional holiday we were given by the government, I really felt the fact we had less public holidays than others.

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Thinking about this topic long and hard this past bank holiday weekend, I realised that many more countries are surpassing even the French when it comes to public holidays. Iceland has 16 public holidays, while Denmark has 14.

However, we could be climbing up to match some of these countries sooner than we think. The political party People Before Profit has recently said that they will bring forward legislation to introduce two new public holidays.

The suggested dates of the new holidays are the last Monday in September and the last Monday in November. With less minimum holiday requirements than some other European countries, I think it’s only fair we catch up and introduce more public holidays in Ireland.

We have a minimum 20 days holidays entitlement per year for workers, compared with France and Denmark’s generous 25 days and Iceland’s 24.

I will be waiting for the good news that we are getting back what we are owed and catching up with some of the rest of Europe.

With less minimum holidays and public holidays I think it’s only natural to bring in new holidays for us workers in Ireland. I can’t imagine there being backlash over such wonderful news…

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