Ireland
Is there any existing legal requirement to report on any gender pay gap?
Yes.
If so, what are the requirement triggers?
From 2022, organisations with over 250 employees began reporting on their gender pay gap. Since 2024, this threshold has reduced to 150 employees (further reducing to 50 employees in 2025).
What frequency of reporting is required?
Annually.
Is the report required to be published externally?
Yes. Employers must publish or make available their gender pay gap report. It must be done on the employer’s website in a manner which is accessible to all the employer’s employees, and the public. If the employer does not have a website, the data must be made available in physical form for inspection during normal business hours by both employees and the public, at the employer’s registered office or principal place of business. Gender pay gap reports must remain available and accessible for at least 3 years from the date of publication
Is there a sanction for non-compliance with the duty to report?
An employee can bring a claim against their employer to the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) in respect of non-compliance. There are no financial penalties for non-compliance, nor is compensation available to employees, but the WRC can make an order requiring the employer to take a specified course of action to comply with legislation.
Has Ireland yet fully transposed the requirements of the Pay Transparency Directive? If yes, what was the implementation date and what is the name of the legislation?
No.
If the Pay Transparency Directive has not yet been transposed, what steps have been taken towards implementation?
On 15 January 2025, the Government published a General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024, which included two provisions aimed at partly transposing the Pay Transparency Directive in relation to the recruitment stage, namely measures requiring employers to provide information about salary levels or ranges either in the job advertisement or in advance of the interview, and prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their pay history or their current rate of pay. These provisions have not yet been passed into law.
In addition, the Government has noted in its legislative programme that “heads are in preparation” for a Pay Transparency Bill, meaning that the initial draft framework for that Bill is underway. Further details are awaited.
On 7 October 2026, the Employment Equality and Institutional Burials (Amendment) Bill 2026 was introduced in the Dáil. The Bill would provide a statutory basis for regulations requiring employers to submit gender pay gap information directly to the Minister through a centralised Gender Pay Gap Portal. Additionally, it would allow the Minister to review employers’ accompanying statements and return any that do not comply; allow the Minister to publish the information centrally and provide a tool for comparing employers and sectors; and require employers to continue publishing their reports on their own websites at the same time.
The Minister described these amendments as 'purely technical'. She noted that the Bill does not directly transpose the Directive but will assist with its transposition. She went on to say that she will be bringing further legislation to the Houses in the coming months to complete the transposition of the Directive. The Bill's Second Stage was debated on 13 October 2026 and the Government intends the Bill to be enacted and commenced in time for the November 2026 reporting cycle. Employers with over 50 employees are already required to publish their gender pay gap reports. Once the legislation is commenced and the relevant regulations are made, they will also be required to submit those reports through the Gender Pay Gap Portal.
The Irish government confirmed that transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive would be delayed beyond 7 June 2026, and that it would be implemented on a phased basis once the remaining legislation has passed. There has been no timeline provided as to when we can expect the Directive to be transposed, and we still await draft legislation in relation to the remaining provisions of the Directive. The government further stated that employers would not be penalised for failing to put in place all elements of the Directive by or before the original June 2026 deadline.
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