As part of a monthly series, The Journal and Red C ask readers questions about their daily lives and the issues that really matter to them.

NEARLY ONE QUARTER of people in Ireland have picked February as their preferred month for an additional bank holiday.

The government is considering granting the additional holiday as a part of a ‘Covid bonus’ to reward frontline workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

New polling by Red C on behalf of The Journal shows that 23% of respondents think the extra holiday should take place in February, making the month the most popular option by a significant margin.

People were given the option of choosing any month from November this year until October next year. ‘No preference’ and ‘Don’t want one’ were also listed as options.

The second most-popular month was November with 14% of the vote, while December was third on 8%.

A total of 23% of respondents said they had no preference at all and 6% said they don’t want the additional bank holiday. 

February was also the most favoured option among males who responded to the poll, with 24% selecting the month. A total of 28% of females said they had no preference and 22% selected February.

February was also the most popular option among all the age groups, except 18-34 year-olds, where it tied with November on 22%.

A decision on the additional bank holiday is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar previously said he’d like to see the extra bank holiday held in February or March. Fine Gael TD Ciaran Cannon suggested it should tie in with the American holiday of Thanksgiving (Thursday, 26 November).

That idea provoked a swift backlash among opposition politicians and the media. Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard was among those who took issue with the plan, saying the proposal would “make a mockery of Ireland’s long and fraternal solidarity with Native American peoples who do not celebrate, but mourn the great genocide of their ancestors.”

Red C interviewed a random sample of 1000+ adults online between 7 and 13 October 2021. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results weighted to the profile of all adults. Panellists were chosen at random to complete the poll, with quotas set and weights allocated on age, gender, class, region, education level and working status to ensure a nationally representative sample.