Minimum wage in Ireland 2026, and the other changes for workers in 2026

What is the minimum wage in Ireland in 2026?

Since 1 January 2026, the national minimum wage is €14.15 an hour S.I. No. 472/2025.

The full rate applies from age 20. Citizens Information gives these rates for 2026:

Age	Share of full rate	Hourly rate
20 and over	100%	€14.15
19	90%	€12.74
18	80%	€11.32
Under 18	70%	€9.91

For a 39-hour week, €14.15 an hour is €551.85 before tax.

Some people are not covered, according to Citizens Information: someone employed by a close relative, and people in a statutory apprenticeship.

Do the youth rates still exist?

Yes, in October 2026. The Low Pay Commission recommended abolishing all sub-minimum rates in a report published on 11 June 2024. The Department said it would assess the impact and seek legal advice before a government decision. We found no law adopted to remove them, as of 20 October 2026. Citizens Information still lists the youth rates on its page updated in October 2026.

What is the minimum wage for 2027?

Budget 2027 announced that the minimum wage for people aged 20 and over will rise by €0.79 to €14.94 an hour from 1 January 2027. Citizens Information notes that this change requires legislation. Until it is made, €14.15 remains the legal rate. We will update this page when the new order is published.

Citizens Information also says a national living wage, set at 60% of median wages, is planned to replace the minimum wage from 2029.

What counts towards the minimum wage?

Your average hourly rate is your gross pay divided by your hours, over a pay reference period your employer chooses: a week, a fortnight or a month, never longer National Minimum Wage Act 2000, s.10 and s.20. Your hours are the longer of your contract hours and the hours you actually worked, or were available for and paid for.

According to Citizens Information:

Counts	Does not count
Basic pay	Overtime premium
Shift premium	Call-out, unsocial hours, weekend and public holiday premiums
Bonuses and commission	Allowances, standby pay
Board and lodging, at set values	Tips paid to you directly
	Employer pension contributions, redundancy pay, sick pay and holiday pay

Board counts at €1.27 an hour, and lodging at €33.42 a week or €4.77 a day.

What can you do if you are paid less?

Talk to your employer first. If that does not work, Citizens Information describes two routes through the Workplace Relations Commission:

• ask a WRC inspector to investigate; or
• refer a dispute to a WRC adjudication officer. Before that, you must ask your employer in writing for a statement of your average hourly rate. Your employer has 4 weeks to give it. You must then refer the dispute within 6 months of getting the statement, extendable to 12 months.

You cannot use both routes for the same dispute. Dismissing someone for asserting the minimum wage is one of the cases where unfair dismissal does not need 12 months’ service National Minimum Wage Act 2000, s.36(2): see unfair dismissal in Ireland.

What else changed for workers in 2026?

Auto-enrolment: MyFutureFund

Since 1 January 2026, employees are automatically enrolled in the State pension savings scheme, MyFutureFund, if they:

• do not pay into a pension through payroll for that job;
• are aged 23 to 60;
• earn €20,000 or more a year across all jobs, or more than €5,000 over 13 weeks.

Contributions rise in steps:

Years	You	Your employer	The State
1 to 3	1.5%	1.5%	0.5%
4 to 6	3%	3%	1%
7 to 9	4.5%	4.5%	1.5%
10 onward	6%	6%	2%

Employer and State contributions stop once your pay reaches €80,000 in the year. You must stay in for at least 6 months; you can then opt out in a 2-month window, ending 8 months after you were enrolled, and get your own contributions back.

Example. On €850 a week, your 1.5% is €12.75 a week, your employer adds €12.75 and the State €4.25.

If you change jobs, Citizens Information says you remain a member of MyFutureFund and do not need to join again.

Working until State Pension age

Since 29 June 2026, under the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025, an employee whose contract sets a retirement age of 65 or under can tell the employer in writing that they do not agree to retire at that age, and stay until the State Pension age of 66. The Department says notice must be given at least 3 months, and no more than 12 months, before the retirement date. Nobody has to stay if they prefer to retire.

Statutory sick pay: still 5 days

Statutory sick pay remains 5 days a year, paid at 70% of normal pay up to €110 a day. In April 2025 the government decided not to raise it to 7 days. We found no later change, as of 20 October 2026.

Announced for 2027

Budget 2027 also announced, from January 2027, a €10 increase in the maximum weekly rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit, from €254 to €264. For payments after a job loss, see social welfare after redundancy in Ireland.

Leaving a job on the minimum wage?

Your final pay works the same way whatever your hourly rate. Holiday pay is not counted towards the minimum wage, but it is due on top:

• your final wages, at no less than the minimum rate for your age;
• annual leave not taken: see annual leave and holiday pay when you leave;
• a public holiday, in some cases: see public holiday pay when you leave;
• notice: see notice period in Ireland.

Your next steps

1. Check, free. Use the final pay check to work out your notice, leave and public holiday pay, and compare them with your final payslip. The annual leave calculator and the notice calculator cover each line on its own.
2. Claim in writing. If wages, notice, leave or a public holiday are missing when you leave, you can prepare a final pay claim letter to your employer yourself (€9, or €19 with a dated follow-up letter and reminders). For a minimum wage dispute, the statement of your average hourly rate comes first.
3. The next step. A WRC complaint is made online. A free preparation sheet, available from the check’s results without any purchase, lists the sections of the online form.