Ireland: Operating a Business

Private Company Limited by Shares (Ltd)

Number of partners: Between 1 and 149 shareholders.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required. Minimum one share per shareholder.
Shareholders and liability: Limited to capital subscribed.

Public Company Limited by Shares (PLC)

Number of partners: Minimum of 7 shareholders, no upper limit. At least two directors.
Capital (max/min): Minimum share capital allocated: EUR 25,000, of which at least 25% must be paid on issue.
Shareholders and liability: Limited to capital subscribed.

Unlimited Company (UC)

Number of partners: Minimum of 2 directors.
Capital (max/min): Minimum share capital allocated: EUR 25,000, of which at least 25% must be paid on issue.
Shareholders and liability: Unlimited and joint.

Limited Partnership (LP)

Number of partners: Maximum of 20 shareholders, 10 for a partnership in the banking sector.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: Limited to capital subscribed.

Business Setup Procedures

The Competent Organisation

The Irish Companies Registration Office.

For Further Information

Consult the Doing Business Website, to know about procedures for starting a Business in Ireland.
Companies Registration Office

Financial Information Directories

Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses

Recovery Procedures

Principle

Click here.

Minimum Debt-to-Capital Ratio Triggering Liquidation

Click here.

Bankruptcy Laws

Click here.

Reorganization and Rehabilitation Laws

Click here.

For Further Statistics

Central Statistics Office Ireland

For Further Information About the Labour Market

Department of Jobs, Enterprises and Innovation

Opening Hours

 

• Legal Weekly Duration

39 hours. For more information, please visit the Public Service Information website.

• Maximum Duration

48 hours

• Night Hours

Night workers are entitled to a free health assessment before starting night work and at regular intervals thereafter.

Working Rest Day

Working hours are governed by EU directives, which stipulate that you’re entitled to a minimum of 11 hours’ continuous rest in every 24 hours and at least one rest period in a working day of more than six hours. You’re also entitled to at least 24 hours’ continuous rest every week. Employers are required to compensate staff for Sunday working (i.e. pay them more than their normal daily wage).

Paid Annual Vacation

Under the law, Organisation of Working Time Act , 1997, employees are entitled to 4 working weeks annual leave (20 days) in any leave year during which they have worked 1,365 hours.
Any employee who has worked for at least 8 months of the leave year is entitled to a 2 week unbroken leave period.

Retirement Age

While 65 years of age is traditionally regarded as the age most people retire, there is no single retirement age in Ireland.

Child Labour and Minimum Age For Employment

The employment of children under the school-leaving age is generally prohibited. 15 is the legal full-time working age.

Pay

Minimum Wage

From 1 January 2026, the following rates apply: €9.91 for people aged under 18, €11.32 for 18 years old, €12.74 for 19 years old and €14.15 is the National Minimum Wage (20+).

Average Wage

The average salary in Ireland is €52,802, according to the Central Statistics Office (Q2 2025). This equates to a salary after tax of €3,427 a month, or €791 a week.

Other Forms of Pay

• Pay For Overtime

"Working hours" include overtime. Although there is no statutory entitlement to premium pay for overtime, it could be arranged between employer and employee.

• Pay For Rest Days Worked

There are three different ways of calculating your annual leave entitlement:

1. Based on the employee’s working hours during what is called the leave year, which runs from April to March. An employee who has worked at least 1,365 hours in the leave year (that is, an average working week of 26.25 hours) is entitled to the maximum of four weeks’ annual leave. Many employers use the calendar year (January-December) instead of the official leave year to calculate entitlement
2. By allowing 1/3 of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee has worked at least 117 hours
3. 8% of the hours worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of 4 weeks

Notes

• An employee may use whichever of these methods gives the greater entitlement.
• An employee who has worked for at least 8 months is entitled to an unbroken period of 2 weeks’ annual leave.

• Pay For Night Hours

The definition of normal weekly pay excludes any payments /remuneration or allowances in respect of overtime, night work, shift work, unsocial hours or an employee being available "on call".

Social Security Costs

The Areas Covered

Health insurance (medical care, maternity, disability, death), retirement pensions, family allowances, unemployment benefit.

Almost half the Irish population now pays for private health insurance, one of the highest levels of coverage in the OECD. Click here to consult the website of Irish Welfare.

Contributions

Contributions Paid By the Employer: Employers withhold up to 11.05% of employees' salaries for the pay-related social insurance (PRSI). If weekly salaries are less than EUR 410, the PRSI is reduced to 8.8%.
Contributions Paid By the Employee: Employees contribute 4% of their gross income to pay-related social insurance (PRSI). If gross income is less than the minimum wage, the employee is exempt from the PRSI.

Competent Organization

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Recruitment

Recruitment Agencies

Jobs.ie, Irishjobs, Monster, Bay Group...

Recruitment Websites

Jobs.ie
Irishjobs
Monster
Recruit Ireland

The Contract

Social Partners

Employer Associations

IBEC - Irish Business and Employers Confederation
ISME - Irish SME Association
Enterprise Ireland - Organisation for the Development and Growth of Irish Enterprises

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is the single umbrella organisation for trade unions in Ireland and represents a wide range of interests for 832,000 workers, both in the Irish Republic and in Northern Ireland.
There are currently 64 unions affiliated with the Congress. The Northern Ireland Committee (NIC) of the ICTU is the representative body for 34 trade unions with more than 215,000 members in Northern Ireland.

Unionisation Rate

Currently, roughly a quarter of workers in the private sector are unionised, compared to more than two-thirds in the public sector. Among foreign-owned firms, roughly 80% of workers do not belong to a unions. However, pay and benefits are usually more attractive compared to domestic firms.

Labour Unions

Irish Congress of Trade Unions

Regulation Bodies

International Labour Organisation