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TODAY, A NEW public holidays bill will be brought before the Dáil by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh.
It is not the first such bill brought by Ó Snodaigh – he brought similar legislation to Leinster House in 2013 during the lifetime of the last government, only to be turned down by then Communications Minister and Labour TD Alex White.
And today, it seems the Government is set to vote this new bill down once again.
The Public Holidays Bill 2016 is set to call officially for the amendment of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
More simply, it’s calling for a new public holiday in line with the 1916 centenary – 24 April, the day the week-long Rising began 100 years ago.
It is not the first mention of public holidays in the news in recent times – last week Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes similarly called for additional days to be added to Ireland’s working calendar, saying that only three other EU countries have fewer public holidays than the nine Ireland currently has each year.
Irony
The irony of a government voting contrary to its own MEP’s wishes is not lost on Ó Snodaigh.
“Well last time out I had Alex White and I could point to contradictory statements from Ruairí Quinn, this time I don’t know who it’ll be, but I can point to Brian Hayes and the discrepancy there,” Ó Snodaigh told TheJournal.ie.
Hayes’ rationale for the provision of a new holiday seems to be mostly economic. For Ó Snodaigh patriotism in the centenary year of the Easter Rising seems to be the dominant factor.
“I think it’s appropriate, particularly given how successful the 1916 celebrations were, to have a look at the independent struggle involved,” he says.
We would be looking for a number of events in each county on the day, to look at the idea of what was contained in the Proclamation. There are concepts there that I think we should have a debate on.”
We also think it’s appropriate for Ireland to have another non-secular public holiday, to celebrate our identity.
Regarding why the government would reject his legislation, Ó Snodaigh says he “doesn’t know why” that would be the case.
“Last time out we had nothing concrete from Alex White,” he said.
I can understand Ibec (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) or ISME (Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association) having a problem due to cost to businesses maybe, but there’s no rush on this.
They could let it go to committee stage, hear from people in different interest groups, see what they have to say.
But if they do vote against it it’ll be interesting to see why, especially if Fianna Fáil vote for it.
‘Not a priority’
As it happens, the department who will be handling this isn’t Communications, but rather Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and its Minister Heather Humphreys.
TheJournal.ie queried the department as to why the new bill was to face opposition.
Throughout consultations with stakeholders as to the nature of the 1916 celebrations “the idea of introducing a public holiday to take place on 24th April in each calendar year, was not identified as a priority” a spokesperson for the Minister said.
“The Government must also take account of the very considerable costs associated with introducing a new public holiday,” they said.
The Department of Jobs estimates that the total potential loss in productivity for an additional day’s public holiday would be approximately €396 million.
Now is not the time to be heaping additional costs on small businesses, particularly as we face into the Brexit era.
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€462 less 33% Dirt = €103 per year or €2 er week.
Seriously, how is anyone arguing that €2 per week on €10,000 put away for 3 years is actually a good deal when inflation will be over 2% for the same period.
I get that people dislike Irish banks but this isn’t the correct issue to be highlighting- it just perpetuates the appalling levels of financial illiteracy we have in this country.
Encouraging people to make a less %hitty decision is not good financial advice.
Deposit rates will never beat inflation over the longer term, the entire global financial system is set up to ensure this.
Why not educate people about the benefits of choosing a well diversified low cost investment and actually grow the value of their savings rather than fool them into thinking that 2.46% gross is a good deal.
It’s not – it’s lousy.
@Wombleman: We need to. Its the future of how we earn money when jobs are no longer necessary
@Wombleman: Well said. Not worth the bother moving it, or the ball ache of reporting DIRT….. that’s why deposits are in current not savings accounts
@RC247: that makes no financial sense when moving it actually saves your money eroding with inflation. Irish banks are scamming you & making money off you by doing so!
@Wombleman: The vast majority of people are never going invest in that way. Most don’t even move their money into an account with a higher interest rate. The banks are making money by sticking peoples money on deposit with the ECB and ripping the average saver off. It should not be allowed.
Just moved my BOI, PTSB and An Post savings to TFBank at 3.90% fixed for 1 year.
We desperately need a tax free savings & investments scheme just like the UK ISA system, the Canadian TFSA system or the (unfortunately named) US IRA savings vehicle. In the UK, residents can deposit up to £10,000/yr and earn interest free from tax.
@MTB Mayo: …sorry, it’s actually £20,000/yr now!
Why would anyone think that a bank will do anything other than take their money?
I dont understand why people are still using Irish banks. It is easy enough to open non-resident accounts in other European countries and avail of better customer service, better rates, and lower fees. Also part of the instant SEPA system unlike the Irish banks which are the only EU country yet to sign up to the protocol because the Irish banks deem it “too costly” to upgrade the technological infrastructure. I think the EU deadline was 2021, yet the Irish banks project it will be 2027 until they can partake in the system.
@Niall English: I thought Ireland was a full SEPA member… Do the Irish banks not ‘play the game’?
I didn’t encounter any problems moving my direct debits to a GB or LT Revolut account before it became IE, both with utilities and with credit card, loans, etc.
@Jerry LeFrog: they are a member of SEPA but they do not have capability of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Protocol e.g, instant transfer in 10 seconds. Irish bank transfers still take one working day. Its archaic stuff, technological infrastructure needs a serious upgrade and they complain they dont have the funding for this. Be nice to get into the 21st century banking. They were hoping this would be solved with that app they were going to launch together (BOI, AIB, and PTSB) but that got canned a few months ago.
https://www.raisin.ie/
Look at the rates with raisin.
F the Irish banking cartel!
To make money you need money. If you your family and mates can afford a min 100 euro each a month , you better of collectively putting into one investment pot where yous are all equal holders.
have your say