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April 2026

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NATIONAL TRAINING FUND—Near €1.4bn surplus in State training fund is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘outrageous’.

Accumulated surplus in National Training Fund now stands at €1.37bn, Dail’s Public Accounts Committee is told.

A near €1.4 billion surplus in a key State training fund has been criticised as ‘outrageous’ at the Public Accounts Committee.

The high-powered Dáil Committee is hearing from officials at the Department of Further and Higher Education, who outlined the accumulated surplus in the National Training Fund (NTF) now stands at €1.37 billion.

Colm O’Reardon, the new Secretary General for the Department, said the underspend was a “very important issue for us” with the surplus building for several years.

Imelda Munster, the Sinn Féin TD for Louth, described the figure as “ridiculous”, claiming it was an “outrageous amount of money to be sitting there in a surplus not used”.

James O’Connor, the Fianna Fáil TD for Cork East, said the income of the fund was €951 million last year.

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REMOTE WORKING—A Code of Practice for the right to request remote working is to be strengthened as part of a review by the Government. (RTE, 5.3.2026)

The Department of Enterprise is to recommend that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) revises the code to ensure employers give comprehensive and transparent reasons for their remote working decisions.

The proposed changes would also see the Code providing clearer templates and guidance for employees applying for remote work.

The review found that less than half of all employees in Ireland were aware that there is a formal, legal right to request a remote working arrangement, which means that for a majority of the Irish workforce, the statutory right remains unknown.

Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the Government wants to know the rationale and reasons as to why remote working is being refused.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said that not every job will allow remote working, but, he said, “we have to hive out opportunity that gives people a better quality of life”.

The right to request remote working came into force in March, 2024 which obliges employers and employees to have regard to the WRC code of practice when considering applications for remote working arrangements.

Workers can take a case to the WRC if they believe their employer has failed to fulfil their obligations under the code.

At the end of last year, the Government ran a public consultation seeking views on the right to request remote working which received 8,181 responses.

As well as the public consultation, the findings of the review were informed by a nationally representative survey of employees and employers.

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MISCARRIAGE and IVF LEAVE—The Government has been urged to roll out laws giving workers up to 20 days of paid leave to recover from a miscarriage and up to 10 days off for IVF treatment.

“Labour Party politicians Ivana Bacik, Marie Sherlock and George Lawlor have written to the Joint Committee on Enterprise asking it to “urgently undertake pre-committee stage scrutiny of a bill it tabled five years ago” (Irish Independent, 4.2.2026).

Labour argues that the lack of support is “shameful” given that an estimated 14,000 women experience pregnancy loss in Ireland annually.  They are pushing for Ireland to follow the examples of New Zealand and other jurisdictions in providing compassionate workplace leave.  In Northern Ireland, paid leave for miscarriage is expected to be implemented in April.

While the Bill passed the Seanad in late 2023 with Ggovernment support, it has faced delays in the Dáil, with reports indicating it was stalled for a 12 month review in early 2024.

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SOCIAL WELFARE—Over 11,000 people in Ireland had their social welfare payments reduced in 2025 due to a crackdown on failing to engage with employment services, the Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary confirmed. (Irish Examiner, 9.3.2026)

The cuts were applied to individuals who failed to attend mandatory meetings with the Department of Social Protection or did not engage with employment support schemes

Doubled Penalty:   The penalty for non-engagement was increased to €90 per week from January 2025, doubled from the previous €44–€45 rate.

The Process:   A reduced rate is the final step in a compliance process intended to encourage jobseekers to avail of supports.

Background:   This enforcement measure was part of a broader “make work pay” strategy aimed at ensuring recipients engage with the labour market. 

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FEWER HOURS—A Central Bank study reported by the Irish Independent [12.2.2026] found that fathers with young children are working 8.3% fewer hours compared to 2019 levels, driving 68% of the total reduction in working hours between 2019 and 2024.   This shift, largely driven by higher-income fathers, is attributed to increased care-giving responsibilities and new paid parental leave policies.

The average hours worked in Ireland fell by 6.5pc between 2019 and 2024, and fathers of young children taking more time off is the main reason for the decline.

In contrast, mothers of older children increased their average working hours, indicating a change in household labour patterns, the new study said.

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JOHN KING has been elected SIPTU General Secretary, taking up his new position on 1st March 2026.   John was elected when the Union held it biennial delegate conference in Galway early this year.

A life-long Trade Unionist, John holds a senior role on the ICTU public services committee and was a key figure in pay deals for the sector.

John King had been elected as one of three Deputy General Secretaries in 2017 and has been a key figure in the negotiation of recent public-sector pay agreements.

He also serves as Secretary of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, a group which includes other major Unions, including Fórsa, the teachers’ unions, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

He is a long-time member of the Labour Party and previously worked in a number of roles within SIPTU representing members in the public and the private sectors.

John succeeds Joe Cunningham, who stepped down as General Secretary in February, 2026.

With almost 200,000 members, SIPTU is the largest trade union in the country and represents workers in almost every sector of the economy.

Like almost all other Trade Unions, however, it has been hit by a steady decline in the proportion of private-sector employees who have Union membership.

However, the increased size of the country’s Public Sector has helped to offset the wider decline in density, or membership, which is now put at about 35% overall and below 20% in the private sector.

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SOME HISTORY:   Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU):  Founded in 1909 by James Larkin, SIPTU (Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Trade Union) was established in January, 1990.  The Union was formed through the amalgamation of the two major Irish Unions.

SECRETARIES:  

1990:   Tom Garry and Christy Kirwan;  1994:  Bill Attley;  1998:  John McDonnell;  2002:  Joe O’Flynn;  2020:  Joe Cunningham;  2026:  John King.

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