Ireland will have an extra bank holiday this year in recognition of the lives lost to Covid-19 during the pandemic.
The bonus public holiday will be part of a national commemoration as well as to mark a day of remembrance for those who died from the coronavirus since March 2020.
It was announced on Wednesday that the additional bank holiday will fall on March 18 this year.
This will be a one-off and from 2023 a new bank holiday will fall around St Brigid's Day.
It will be the first Monday in every February, except where St Brigid’s day happens to fall on a Friday, in which case that Friday, February 1 will be a public holiday.
The bonus day will bring the total number of bank holidays in Ireland to ten.
In light of the announcement, here's a full list of all the confirmed bank holidays in 2022:
- New Year's Day: Monday, January 3
- St. Patrick's Day: Thursday, March 17
- 'Bonus' Bank Holiday: Friday, March 18
- Easter Monday: Monday, April 18
- Early May Bank Holiday: Monday, May 2
- June Bank Holiday: Monday, June 6
- August Bank Holiday: Monday, August 1
- October Bank Holiday: Monday, October 31
- Christmas Day: Sunday, December 25
- St Stephen's Day: Monday, December 26
It was also announced on Wednesday that the pandemic bonus for frontline healthcare workers had been signed off by Cabinet.
It will apply to over 100,000 workers and will cost the State an estimated €100 million.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the payment will be paid quickly to public frontline healthcare workers.
This includes staff who were exposed to Covid-19 in hospital settings employed by the HSE.
Cleaners, porters, swabbers in Covid labs, some Defence Force members and ambulance staff will receive the payment as well as student nurses who will be paid on a pro-rata basis.
The Taoiseach also told the Dail that private healthcare workers who were contracted by the HSE and worked on the frontline are entitled to the €1,000 payment.
Frontline staff working in nursing homes and hospices are also eligible for the payment.
