Sore heads to cost economy €72m

IRELAND is waking up to a €72 million St Patrick’s Day hangover today as one in five people surveyed said they plan on calling in sick to work.

This will result in a loss to the economy of €71.9m, according to figures compiled by www.myvouchercodes.ie.

Britain is facing a St Patrick’s Day hangover of £566m (€630m) as a fifth of people surveyed there also said they are planning on calling in sick today.

The survey also found that Guinness sales will have rocketed in Britain yesterday, with 84% saying they were planning on drinking at least one pint of the black stuff on St Patrick’s Day.

Over half of Londoners said they were planning to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in some way, while just one in five people from Yorkshire and Humberside said they had an interest in the patron saint’s day.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 1.4% of the British population are Irish-born, while Nottingham University estimates that there are six million British residents of at least 25% Irish ancestry – equating to nearly 10% of the British population.

Will O’Leary, manager of MyVoucherCodes.ie, said: “Having a few pints on St Patrick’s Day is a time-honoured tradition – and one that I’m a huge fan of.

“Although we love the social element of it, as a money-saving website, we couldn’t help but look at just how much the day ends up costing people who celebrate it, in terms of lost productivity.

“If the actual day after St Patrick’s Day reflects what we saw here in this study, the cost of the day will amount to nearly £560m in Britain and almost €72 million in Ireland.”