Hard-working staff should be rewarded with two extra days of public holidays, according to Labour TD Ruairí Quinn.
The Labour party's employment spokesman said the extra days off would help workers to become more fulfilled and would put Ireland in line with the rest of Europe. Mr Quinn pointed to a new survey by the International Labour Organisation, which says that Irish workers are the second most productive in the world, behind Americans.
The rate of productivity in Ireland has grown dramatically since 1980, said the ILO report.
"These are impressive statistics by any standards and workers should be entitled to some reward for their successes," said Mr Quinn.
Irish workers are not happy with the amount of leave they receive to offset their Herculean workloads, he said.
Mr Quinn said: "As our economy and productivity have grown, families have found it more difficult for them to spend time together, due to long working hours and lengthy journeys to and from work.
"Economic growth should not be an end in itself, but should be a vehicle to enable our people to live more rewarding and fulfilled lives. At present we have only nine public holidays, while the European average is 11."
Mr Quinn said that public holidays could also provide a boost the economy. "For instance the Cork Jazz Festival and the Dublin City Marathon - both now of huge economic importance to their respective cities - grew out of the October bank holiday introduced in the 1970s."
Mr Quinn said that trade unions should press the case for extra public holidays during the next round of negotiations with Government. "Over the next five years we should reach the situation where there is at least one public holiday for each month."