Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Ireland (Ratification: 1967)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. The Government indicates that the target set in the new 2020 Programme for the creation of 200,000 additional jobs by 2025 was exceeded in 2023, with a total of 470,400 jobs created, including nearly 368,000 jobs outside of Dublin. The Government also indicates that a new Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy was developed through consultation with employers, trade unions and civil society organizations, which constitutes Ireland’s most recent national employment services strategy. The Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy sets out 83 commitments over five main strands of action: (i) improvements in the public employment services; (ii) facilitating recruitment for employers; (iii) ensuring that the welfare system supports moving into employment; (iv) extending targeted employment supports to groups facing specific challenges; and (v) delivering services that have been proved to show results in practice. The Government reports that the strategy’s first annual report highlighted key achievements, with ongoing work to meet all commitments under the external oversight of the Labour Market Advisory Council (LMAC), which includes representatives from employers, trade unions, and civil society bodies.

In addition, the Committee notes that, according to the ILO Department of Statistics (ILOSTAT), while the unemployment rate in Ireland in 2023 was of 4.3 per cent (4.4 per cent for men and 4.2 per cent for women), 34.5 per cent of persons with disabilities were unemployed (49.3 per cent for women) and the unemployment rate among youth was of 10.7 per cent (10.7 per cent for men and 10.6 per cent for women). In addition, the Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations of 20 March 2024, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concerns about the most marginalized and disadvantaged persons and groups continuing to be disproportionately affected by unemployment and underemployment. The CESCR recommended that the Government review its employment policies to address the root causes of unemployment, include in its action plan time-bound goals, focusing on young people, older persons, persons of African descent, migrants, Travellers and Roma and persons with disabilities, notably women belonging to one or more of those groups, and incorporate measures to overcome the structural and institutional barriers hindering their access to the labour market. The CESCR also expressed concerns about reports of a large number of workers engaged in various forms of precarious work and recommended that the Government take all measures necessary to limit the use of part-time work, precarious self-employment and “zero-hour contracts”, in particular by creating decent employment opportunities that guarantee job security and adequate protection of workers’ rights (document E/C.12/IRL/CO/4, paragraphs 26–27(a) and 30-31(a)). The Committee further notes that the mid-term review of the Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy, carried-out by the LMAC and published in May 2024, indicates that while Ireland has made significant progress in labour market performance, nearing full employment, specific categories of workers like persons with disabilities, lone parents, members of the Travellers and Roma communities, and migrants remain underrepresented in Ireland’s labour market. The mid-term review also emphasizes the importance of not only tracking progress in job opportunities but also focusing on job quality, including wages, career prospects, and opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. In these respects, the Committee notes that, following the mid-term review, an updated Pathways to work 2021–2025 strategy with new and revised commitments and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was published which focuses on addressing (i) labour and skills shortages, (ii) green and digital transitions, and (iii) the need to increase participation rates for disadvantaged groups. The updated Pathways to work 2021–2025 strategy includes targets to increase the employment rate for under-represented groups in the labour market and in relation to moving people who are in long-term unemployment into sustainable employment. Taking note of the concerns expressed in the 2024 concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and referring to the 2020 comments from the Committee on the Discrimination (employment and occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken under the updated Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy and their impact on thepromotion of full, productive, freely chosen employment and decent work, particularly for disadvantaged categories of workers, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities, the Travellers and Roma communities, persons of African descent, migrants and older persons. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the development, implementation and impact of the employment policy for the period after 2025. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on employment trends in the country, particularly on employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Impact of COVID-19 on employment. The Government indicates that COVID-19 temporary support measures, such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), and the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), successfully supported beneficiaries returning to or finding new employment following the lifting of public health restrictions. The Government reports that by 2022, 80 per cent of former PUP recipients and 88 per cent TWSS/EWSS recipients were in employment. By 2023, Ireland’s labour market reached a record 2.6 million persons in employment (an 11 per cent increase compared to 2019), with part-time employment growing faster than full-time, and a 2 per cent increase in underemployment since 2019. The Committee takes note of this information, which addresses its previous request regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment.

Coordination of education and training policies with employment policy. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the new National Access Plan (NAP) 2022–28, the National Skills Strategy 2016–25, the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021–25, and the Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme. The Committee also notes the information on the upskilling and reskilling initiatives and programmes, such as the July Stimulus package 2020, the Modular Skills Provision 2021, the Human Capital Initiative Pillar 1, and the Springboard+ 2020–22 programmes. The Committee refers to its 2024 comment under the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), and requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the measures adopted to improve the skills of the workers and to secure lasting employment, particularly for disadvantaged categories of workers.

Article 3. Consultations with the persons affected, in particular representatives of employers and workers. The Government indicates that the Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy was developed following consultation with key stakeholders nationwide, including employers, trade unions and civil society organisations. The Committee notes with interest that the LMAC, which includes representatives from employers, trade unions and civil society bodies, provides oversight on the delivery of the Pathways to Work strategy 2021–25. Further, a public consultation was carried out in 2023, with 21 submissions received including from employer, trade union and civil society groups, which informed the development of the mid-term review of the Pathways to Work 2021–25 strategy. The Government also indicates that the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), as the formal structure for dialogue between social partners to discuss economic and social policies that affect employment and the workplace, continues to provide a forum to discuss developments related to the employment policy, such as progress towards a living wage, the Sick leave Act 2022, and the right to request remote working. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the manner in which representatives of the person affected by the measures, including representatives of employers and workers, are consulted concerning the formulation and implementation of the employment policy.