Irish workers are among the worst off in Europe in terms of the amount of holidays they receive, a new EU study has found.
Research findings published yesterday by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) showed the Republic fourth from bottom in the league table of annual leave and public holidays among EU member states.
Workers in the Republic on average receive 29 days of combined leave and public holidays each year. This is the lowest among the 15 "older" EU member states and fourth from bottom of the list of all 27 member states.
Sweden tops the list of holidays with workers receiving 42 days off on average each year.
Workers in Estonia have just 26 days of combined leave and public holidays each year.
The study found that marked differences existed between EU members in the total number of days' leave offered to workers. Workers in some countries had the equivalent of almost 3½ working weeks more time off than their counterparts in other states. It also found that full-time employees in Ireland worked an average of 38.5 hours per week in their main job in 2005.
Throughout the EU the average actual weekly working hours for last year was 39.9 hours.
The figures for Ireland were based on figures for 2005.
The report also found that the actual weekly working hours for men exceeded those for women by over three hours in Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland and the UK.
The Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Billy Kelleher, told the Dáil in a written parliamentary answer earlier this month that no increase in the number of pubic holidays in Ireland was being contemplated by the Government.
He said that if such a move were considered, among the matters that would have to be looked at was the impact of any such increase in public holidays on the competitiveness of firms, in particular in relation to small and medium enterprises with smaller workforces, as well as on output and the implications for employment.