Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:163. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the estimated cost of introducing a new public holiday. [28894/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 June 2022
Ceisteanna (163)
Freagraí scríofa
From next year the Government is introducing a new permanent public holiday in celebration of Imbolc/St. Brigid’s day. This will be the first Monday in every February, except where St. Brigid’s day, the 1st day of February, happens to fall on a Friday, in which case that Friday 1st February will be a public holiday. The Government wants to ensure that the public holiday provides for a long weekend. The first St. Brigid’s day public holiday will be Monday 6th February 2023.
This will raise the public holidays in Ireland to 10, bringing us more into line with other member states where the numbers range from 8 to 15 days. While there are costs involved, there is no compensation for employers for any public holidays. However, there are many benefits to the economy, as an additional public holiday helps to stimulate spending throughout the country, particularly in businesses operating in the tourism, entertainment, recreation, and hospitality sectors.
Due to lack of data, it is not possible to generate a historical estimate for the impact of a one-off public holiday using Irish data. Previous analysis by the UK Office for National Statistics estimated the economic impact of an additional one-off public holiday would reduce annual gross national income by between 0.3% and 0.4%. The Department of Finance projects Modified Gross National Income of €242 billion in 2022. Based on the above data, the cost of introducing a new public holiday would be in the region of €0.7 billion to €1 billion. This estimate is of limited value however given the range of variables.
In terms of costs to employers, in practice not all sectors will be equally impacted by a bank holiday – for example, the accommodation and food services sector may experience a rise in activity during a bank holiday, similarly a selection of retailers may choose to continue to operate during a bank holiday. As well as the economic cost of an additional public holiday, there are also positive aspects including benefits of leisure from an additional day off for many, as well as any further community and societal benefits.