Advertisement

Should we have fewer Bank Holidays?

No matter what form it takes, Brexit will undoubtedly influence the European Economy. On today’...

Share this article

15.03 1 Apr 2019


Should we have fewer Bank Holidays?


Listen to this episode


Share this article

15.03 1 Apr 2019


No matter what form it takes, Brexit will undoubtedly influence the European Economy.

On today’s show, Sean Moncrieff spoke with Helga Schnellhardt, who is a Member of the European Parliament for Saxony-Anhalt for Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands.

She is part of a think tank, who have just come back from the Global forum of productiveness,  openness, global value chains, and productivity-enhancing policies.

One of the “blue sky thoughts” the group had was to reduce the number of Bank Holidays in European member states, in a bid to increase productivity and save money.

Research suggests that each Bank Holiday taken, costs 0.16% to the GDP of a country, and taking three less each year would mean a saving of millions, if not billions of euro.

Helga Schnellhardt suggested that one of the national days off that Ireland could remove could be St. Patrick’s Day.  Not to take away from the nation’s celebrations, she said that workers could enjoy a parade at their lunch break and then go back to work.


Read more about

Bank Holidays Irish Bank Holidays

Related Episodes

How States Get Recognised and...

00:19:30

How States Get Recognised and Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

Newstalk Daily

00:19:30


Why did Terry Prone donate all...

00:12:05

Why did Terry Prone donate all of her documents?

The Hard Shoulder

00:12:05


How to avoid a bad back

00:08:48

How to avoid a bad back

The Hard Shoulder

00:08:48


Trump threatens 250% tariff on...

00:05:24

Trump threatens 250% tariff on imported pharmaceuticals

The Hard Shoulder

00:05:24