Legal firm Mason Hayes & Curran has published a detailed breakdown of the Irish Government’s revised Roadmap for Minimum Annual Remuneration (MAR) for employment permits, confirming sharp increases that took effect on 1 March 2026. Under the Employment Permits Act 2024, permit salaries are now indexed to the Central Statistics Office’s average-earnings data, meaning annual uprating is here to stay.(mhc.ie)
Headline numbers include a rise in the General Employment Permit floor from €34,000 to €36,605 and in Critical Skills Permit salaries from €38,000 to €40,904 where a relevant degree is held. Intra-Company Transfers must now pay at least €49,523. A new, lower €34,009 threshold applies to recent Irish-graduate permit-holders, a concession aimed at retaining local talent. Lower historical rates for healthcare assistants and meat-processing operatives have also crept above €32,600 as the Government phases out sectoral discounts by 2030.
![Salary Thresholds for Irish Employment Permits Jump on 1 March 2026—Government Publishes Final Figures]()
HR and mobility professionals looking for practical support with Irish employment-permit applications can save time by tapping into VisaHQ’s resources. The firm’s dedicated Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers real-time updates on permit thresholds, personalised document checklists and filing assistance, helping organisations and assignees navigate the new salary rules with confidence.
For multinational employers the impact is immediate: recruitment adverts must quote the new figures, pending renewals must be audited for compliance and budget owners must factor in index-linked rises every January going forward. Failure to meet the threshold will trigger permit refusals or renewal rejections, jeopardising assignment continuity.
Mobility teams are advised to run a salary-gap analysis, update labour-market needs-test templates and liaise with payroll to implement increases before the first anniversary of each hire. Graduate-hire programmes should incorporate the dedicated lower threshold while noting that it expires on year three when the employee graduates to a standard General Employment Permit.
Headline numbers include a rise in the General Employment Permit floor from €34,000 to €36,605 and in Critical Skills Permit salaries from €38,000 to €40,904 where a relevant degree is held. Intra-Company Transfers must now pay at least €49,523. A new, lower €34,009 threshold applies to recent Irish-graduate permit-holders, a concession aimed at retaining local talent. Lower historical rates for healthcare assistants and meat-processing operatives have also crept above €32,600 as the Government phases out sectoral discounts by 2030.
HR and mobility professionals looking for practical support with Irish employment-permit applications can save time by tapping into VisaHQ’s resources. The firm’s dedicated Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers real-time updates on permit thresholds, personalised document checklists and filing assistance, helping organisations and assignees navigate the new salary rules with confidence.
For multinational employers the impact is immediate: recruitment adverts must quote the new figures, pending renewals must be audited for compliance and budget owners must factor in index-linked rises every January going forward. Failure to meet the threshold will trigger permit refusals or renewal rejections, jeopardising assignment continuity.
Mobility teams are advised to run a salary-gap analysis, update labour-market needs-test templates and liaise with payroll to implement increases before the first anniversary of each hire. Graduate-hire programmes should incorporate the dedicated lower threshold while noting that it expires on year three when the employee graduates to a standard General Employment Permit.
