Ireland: the government suspends the introduction of a living wage

The news. On 7 October, the Irish government declared it was suspending the phased introduction of the statutory living wage planned for this year. The executive justified this “pause” by the need to “provide visibility to employers” and evaluate the economic impact on small businesses. Announced the day after the presentation of the 2027 budget, this decision was welcomed by employer organisations, which stated they were under pressure from rising costs, particularly minimum wage increases. Tr