LEO Varadkar has offered up two potential dates for an extra bank holiday in Ireland.
The Government is expected to announce a pandemic bonus for some frontline workers after the Budget but an additional bank holiday is also on the way.
Varadkar assessed a few of options, adding that his preference would be to find space in February or March next year.
"I am still listening to what people have to say and it hasn’t been decided yet that we will have one," he told Newstalk's Hard Shoulder programme on Monday.
"My preference is either February or March. One option is the St Brigid’s Day period - there is a big gap between January 1 and St Patrick’s Day in terms of holidays.
"The other possibility is a kind of a four-day one over the St Patrick’s day weekend and that would be, if you like, the second anniversary of the pandemic in many ways."
Last week Fine Gael suggested introducing a Thanksgiving Bank Holiday for Ireland on November 29, despite Thanksgiving being a traditionally non-Irish celebration.
"I know one option being put forward is November and that is certainly not ruled out either but there would be a view from a lot of people that you need to give people a bit more notice," Varadkar continued.
"Like I say, not actually decided yet that there will be one and a date hasn’t been decided either."
Ireland currently has just nine bank holidays as opposed to 12 in many other European countries.
