Extra bank holiday proposed for frontline workers

An extra bank holiday could be granted to frontline workers in recognition of the role played by them during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Latest reports suggest the introduction of another bank holiday to the Irish working calendar is being mooted to reward the workers.

In addition to that,  there is speculation about a boost in the minimum wage, rising from the current rate of €10.20 per hour to €10.50 per hour.

 Those who worked on the frontline could also be in line to receive a once off payment from Government as an extra top-up.

Should the bank holiday proposal go ahead, it would mean the number of annual bank holidays would increase to 10.

Speaking in the Dáil, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said calculating the bonus in a fair way was “complicated”.

“There were people who put in enormous extra hours... but there are also people who didn’t. That mightn’t have been through any fault of their own, it was just that their services were reduced or shut down and they weren’t redeployed," he said.