The Tánaiste has told The Hard Shoulder he would like to see any extra bank holiday held in February or March.

Leo Varadkar was speaking after weeks of speculation about an extra public holiday to recognise the efforts of the Irish people through the pandemic.

Ireland currently only has nine bank holidays a year – three fewer than the European Union average of 12 per year.

Minister Varadkar told The Hard Shoulder that nothing has been decided yet.

“I am still listening to what people have to say and it hasn’t been decided yet that we will have one,” he said.

“My preference is either February or March. One option is the St Brigid’s Day period – there is a big gap between January 1st 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.”

He said the Government will consult with the public and the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) before making a final decision

“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,” he said.

“People have orders on order, they have rosters and people may want to book a weekend away, so I think there is probably a strong argument for giving people a decent bit of notice.

“But like I say, not actually decided yet that there will be one and a date hasn’t been decided either.”

You can listen back here: