Labour work plan:The Labour Party has promised to declare St Valentine's Day a public holiday as part of a plan to increase the number of annual public holidays in Ireland from nine to 11.
The party's spokesman on enterprise and employment, Ruairi Quinn, said yesterday that one year's notice of the new holidays would be given to employers to give them time to prepare, and that the increase would bring Ireland in line with other European countries.
"What is the point in being one of the richest nations in Europe if we don't have the time to be with our children and to share it together" Mr Quinn said.
Speaking at the launch of A Fair Place to Work, the party's plan for better workplace standards, Mr Quinn said the cost of the additional public holidays was hard to estimate, but he stressed there would be extra spending around those days.