Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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84. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an additional bank holiday will be introduced in 2020 as part of stimulus measures. [16650/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The legislation which provides for public holidays is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.  This Act provides that certain days may be prescribed as public holidays.  At present, there are nine public holidays.  Any proposal for the provision of an additional public holiday would require careful consideration and wide-ranging consultations with relevant stakeholders.  Not least we would need to consider the implications and impact of any such designation on employment and for the economy at large, in particular the extra costs it would impose on employers already dealing with the unpredictability of the Covid-19 crisis.  

As the Deputy is aware the Government announced a Job Stimulus package on the 23rd July.  That package includes over 50 individual measures addressing every significant area of economic activity in our country.  It is aimed at protecting as many businesses and jobs as possible on one hand and creating new opportunities on the other.  I believe that this comprehensive range of measures is what is needed to begin delivering the recovery from the economic impacts of this pandemic. 

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.