DON’T BANK ON THREE NEW €3.4BN HOLIDAYS
Coveney reveals cost of days off
THREE new bank holidays would cost the State up to €3.4billion, Simon Coveney claimed yesterday.
The Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister also confirmed his officials and those at the Department of Social Protection are carrying out studies to include “a fuller assessment of the impact” an additional public holiday would have.
The information was released to People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett following a parliamentary question.
The party launched a Bill in January proposing three new Bank Holidays.
This would have included February 1, the last Monday in September and the last Monday in November.
The Government later announced a new permanent Bank Holiday would be celebrated on the first Monday in February. Mr Boyd Barrett asked Mr Coveney how much it would cost to introduce three new bank holidays.
The Fine Gael TD said there was a “range of estimates” but it could cost Ireland anywhere between €680million and €3.4billion.
He explained a study carried out by the UK Office of National Statistics found it cost €2.39billion last year to hold an additional bank holiday for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Mr Coveney added: “In the context of UK Gross National Income of £2,505 billion in 2022 – the additional public holiday was estimated to account for approximately 0.1% of GNI.”
The minister also explained that another study from 2022 examined the “causal effects” of a public holiday on economic growth.
It looked at the impact of national holidays for more than 200 countries between 2000 and 2019.
It estimated nations lost 0.08% of GDP for each additional public holiday. Mr Coveney explained three new public holidays would have an estimated cost ranging from 0.24% to 1.2% of GNI.
GNI for 2023 is forecast at €283.7billion.
He said this means, “three additional public holidays would have an estimated cost of between €680million to €3.4billion”.
Deputy Boyd Barrett told the Irish Mirror there has been no evidence the new February public holiday had “any negative impact on the economy”.
He said additional leisure spending would off-set some of the expense.
Mr Boyd Barrett added: “When you take into account the additional spending that wouldn’t otherwise happen that happen on a bank holiday, you may find the actual cost is considerably less.”