By shaping employment legislation at its inception with Government and EU institutions, we ensure the rules reflect enterprise realities, giving our members the foresight needed to adapt and stay ahead.

Our focus 2026/2027:

• Pay transparency:
  ​Ibec continues to lobby extensively on the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, calling for a proportionate transposition that does not gold plate the provisions of the Directive while calling for much-needed clarity for employers on timelines as regards enactment and commencement of the legislation.
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• Social dialogue:
  ​Ibec continues to work closely with the Government following the publication of the Government’s action plan to promote collective bargaining. Ibec continues to highlight the importance of our voluntarist industrial relations framework and the need for the measures contained within the action plan to be considered and actioned within such a voluntarist framework.
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• Code of Practice on a right to request remote working:
  ​Arising from the Government’s recommendation in March 2026 for a revision of the Code of Practice, Ibec is working, in consultation with the WRC, for a revision that does not go beyond its statutory remit, under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 and remains fit for purpose.
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• Quality jobs:
  ​Ibec continues to lobby on the European Commission’s proposed Quality Jobs Act which seeks to improve working
  conditions, health and safety at work and implementation of workers’ rights. It remains a key priority for Ibec that any proposed initiatives complement existing EU rules and place no additional regulatory burden on employers.

Ibec is driving Ireland’s skills and workforce agenda, ensuring businesses can access the talent they need while equipping workers for the future.

What we delivered:

• National Training Fund (NTF): 
  ​A concerted Budget campaign resulted in unlocking €360 million from the NTF to address skills gaps. This successful campaign secured the funds in Budget 2027 and specifically targeted them toward AI skills and disruption.
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• AI readiness: 
  ​€150 million of funds released into the NTF is ringfenced to support workforce development in AI and digital competencies. Ongoing readiness efforts include an updated AI Hub providing guideline documents and usage case studies, alongside the Ibec-Accenture report "Skills for All, Skills for Life," which was launched by Minister Lawless and used for lobbying stakeholders.
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• Skillnet Ireland Business Networks: 
  ​Through the "Networks Effect" campaign, Ibec continued to champion the role of Skillnet Ireland Business Networks as a proven framework and the most effective mechanism for delivering essential workforce upskilling to members. This effort was further bolstered by the Skillnet Business Networks Campaign designed to actively target funding.

Looking ahead to 2027: 

In 2027 Ibec will drive Ireland’s skills agenda by championing practical, employer-led solutions, from flexible micro-credentials and qualifications, to Skillnet business networks for essential upskilling and reskilling. We will leverage the €360 million unlocked from the National Training Fund to address critical talent shortages, create resilience in the face of disruption, and build an AI-native workforce.

Ibec is championing cost competitiveness for businesses, ensuring members can manage elevated commercial costs while helping them attract and retain talent.

What we delivered:

• Income tax: 
  ​Ibec’s advocacy secured an increase in income tax bands and rates. This measure supports both the broader labour market and consumer spending, helping members attract and retain talent while stimulating the wider economy.
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• PRSI: 
  ​Ibec successfully pushed for an increase in the threshold for the higher rate of Employer PRSI from €552 to €600. This directly saves businesses between €650 and €700 per employee, ensuring the Government shoulders about 40% of the burden of the minimum wage increase, with employers covering the remaining 60%.
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• Commercial energy: 
  ​Ibec continued to champion cost competitiveness for businesses by securing the continuation of the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity. This provides critical, ongoing relief to members managing elevated commercial energy costs.

Looking ahead to 2027

In 2027, Ibec will use our momentum to advocate for tangible cost reductions for your business, focusing on lower energy bills, cutting red tape, and advancing PRSI and tax relief to help members manage commercial costs and retain talent.

Ibec is driving Ireland’s innovation and investment agenda, ensuring businesses can access the vital capital they need to scale while mobilising private funding for long-term growth.

What we delivered:

• R&D Tax Credit: R&D Tax CreditTo help your business scale and innovate, Ibec secured enhanced qualifying criteria for the 35% R&D tax credit. This includes crucial improvements for outsourcing and the recognition of costs amounting to €120 million, directly supporting your capacity for innovation.
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• Capital Gains Tax (CGT): Ibec successfully secured a reduction in the Capital Gains Tax from 33% to 31%. This cut helps businesses retain more of their returns, freeing up essential capital to reinvest and scale operations.
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• Scaling and Investment Initiatives: To mobilise private capital and support Irish SMEs to scale and grow, Ibec secured a new €1 billion Scaling Fund. Additionally, this initiative will be supported by the rollout of a new national Savings & Investment Scheme in 2027, ensuring businesses have the financial backing needed for long-term expansion.

Looking ahead to 2027 

In 2027, Ibec will empower your business to scale by simplifying access to funding and maximising the return on R&D investment. We will advance competitive CGT policies and mobilise private capital through the new Savings & Investment Scheme.

Ibec is driving Ireland’s infrastructure and planning reform agenda, ensuring businesses benefit from fast-tracked approvals and streamlined compliance while unblocking vital grid and development bottlenecks to accelerate essential project delivery.

What we delivered:

• Infrastructure and planning reform: 
  ​Ibec successfully helped secure the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026, which was signed into law in June 2026. This legislation imposes strict statutory duties on public bodies to prioritise designated critical infrastructure, directly helping to unblock grid and development bottlenecks.
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• Fast-track planning approvals: 
  ​Ibec’s advocacy ensured the establishment of fast-track planning approvals. This mandates parallel, rather than sequential, approvals across agencies, significantly accelerating essential project timelines and streamlining infrastructure delivery for businesses.
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• Streamlined climate compliance:
  ​Ibec secured crucial provisions to streamline climate compliance within the planning process. This ensures that programmatic climate targets are not constantly re-litigated at individual decision points, preventing costly delays and allowing vital infrastructure projects to proceed efficiently.

Looking ahead to 2027

In 2027, Ibec will work on your behalf to accelerate essential infrastructure delivery. Leveraging the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026, we will champion fast-tracked planning approvals and streamlined climate compliance to unblock vital grid and development bottlenecks for businesses.

Ibec is driving Ireland’s European advocacy and global trade agenda, ensuring businesses benefit from regulatory simplification and enhanced Single Market access while securing vital tariff exemptions and championing a resilient, competitive EU to accelerate cross-border growth.

What we delivered:

• Driving EU Single Market Integration and Competitiveness: 
  ​Ibec successfully shaped policy by establishing Resilience and Competitiveness as core priorities for Ireland's EU Presidency Programme. Through our campaign, 'Making a Resilient, Competitive EU a Reality', we ensured single market development, regulatory simplification, and market access are key deliverables. We also secured a vital role on the Single Market Advisory Panel to directly voice business needs and shape future legislation.
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• US tariffs: 
  ​Through our strong networks in Dublin, Brussels, and the US, Ibec has ensured that the concerns of Irish business are understood and considered at every turn in the EU-US trading relationship. While no tariff is desirable, this has contributed to greater stability and predictability for business alongside important exemptions and reductions for significant sectors in the Irish economy.
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• CSRD omnibus: 
  ​To simplify burdensome regulation and ensure a level playing field, Ibec has advocated for the simplification of regulatory requirements. Together with our European partner, BusinessEurope, we succeeded in securing significant simplification of the requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive under the Omnibus I simplification package. Our advocacy ensured a level playing field for subsidiaries of non-EU companies.

Looking ahead to 2027

Resilience has become the defining capability of Europe’s future prosperity, and is inseparable from competitiveness. To bolster these priorities in this new context, Ibec advocates that Europe must think in systems: open and diversified trade, secure supply chains, adaptive and simplified regulation, and an innovation ecosystem that can withstand shocks while driving growth.