Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) has published a new Roadmap for Minimum Annual Remuneration (MAR) that will steadily raise the salary floors attached to every category of Employment Permit.
Under the plan, the first increase takes effect on 1 March 2026, when General Employment Permit (GEP) minimum pay will rise from €34,000 to €36,605 and the Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) threshold will climb from €38,000 to €40,904. Sub-minimum bands for meat processing, horticulture, healthcare assistants and home-carers will go from €30,000 to €32,691, while recent graduates entering the permit system will benefit from lower starting thresholds that reflect early-career pay.
![Ireland sets out phased salary hikes for Employment Permit holders through 2030]()
The Roadmap replaces a faster two-year plan announced in 2023. Officials said business-cost pressures, consultation feedback from more than 150 employers and trade unions, and concerns that a steep rise could leave existing permit-holders unable to renew all contributed to the decision to stretch implementation out to 2030. Annual indexation will now track average earnings so that thresholds stay in line with Irish wage growth.
For multinational employers this provides welcome certainty after months of speculation. Companies can now model long-range assignment budgets, knowing exactly when higher payroll costs will hit. Talent teams should audit all non-EEA staff whose renewals fall after March 2026 to ensure future pay meets the new bar, and factor the phased increases into offer letters for new hires.
Advocacy groups such as the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland welcomed the smoother glide-path but warned that the lowest-paid sectors remain vulnerable; they are calling for stronger enforcement to stop employers offsetting higher wages with illegal deductions. DETE says detailed guidance and an updated list of eligible occupations will issue early in 2026.
Under the plan, the first increase takes effect on 1 March 2026, when General Employment Permit (GEP) minimum pay will rise from €34,000 to €36,605 and the Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) threshold will climb from €38,000 to €40,904. Sub-minimum bands for meat processing, horticulture, healthcare assistants and home-carers will go from €30,000 to €32,691, while recent graduates entering the permit system will benefit from lower starting thresholds that reflect early-career pay.
The Roadmap replaces a faster two-year plan announced in 2023. Officials said business-cost pressures, consultation feedback from more than 150 employers and trade unions, and concerns that a steep rise could leave existing permit-holders unable to renew all contributed to the decision to stretch implementation out to 2030. Annual indexation will now track average earnings so that thresholds stay in line with Irish wage growth.
For multinational employers this provides welcome certainty after months of speculation. Companies can now model long-range assignment budgets, knowing exactly when higher payroll costs will hit. Talent teams should audit all non-EEA staff whose renewals fall after March 2026 to ensure future pay meets the new bar, and factor the phased increases into offer letters for new hires.
Advocacy groups such as the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland welcomed the smoother glide-path but warned that the lowest-paid sectors remain vulnerable; they are calling for stronger enforcement to stop employers offsetting higher wages with illegal deductions. DETE says detailed guidance and an updated list of eligible occupations will issue early in 2026.
