The Labour Court recommended conceding a union claim to restore two half-days of festival leave for community-based nurses. The recommendation was signed on 31 March 2006. The Health Service Executive- West had proposed withdrawing the leave, which public health nurses had received before 2003; registered general nurses also received it when covering for them. The Irish Nurses Organisation said the leave was a long-standing practice that should not be withdrawn without negotiation. The Court found that a long-standing agreement existed through custom and practice and said changes should be negotiated and agreed. It recommended conceding the union’s claim with appropriate retrospection.