Government Publish Legislation Programme for Autumn 2026 Session

The Government has published its Legislation Programme for the Autumn 2026 session. The following employment law developments are noteworthy.

Priority Publication List

The key Bill listed for priority publication is the Employment Equality (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment), and Another Matter, Bill which will clarify the legislative basis for Employers to report their gender pay gap to the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality via a central online portal. The Government had signalled earlier this year that all Organisations in scope of the gender pay gap reporting legislation would be required to submit their reports to the Gender Pay Gap Portal for the 2026 and subsequent reporting cycles.

Priority Drafting List

The Autumn Programme’s Priority Drafting List includes the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which provides for amendments to the Employment Equality and Equal Status Acts, arising from a review of the employment equality legislation. This Bill will also provide for new entitlements around surrogacy leave and leave for pregnancy loss. Work remains ongoing on the first draft.

All Other Legislation List

Two employment-related Bills feature on the All Other Legislation List .

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill proposes to amend the mend the Employment Permits Act 2024 by providing the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment with the power to adjust the balance of Irish/EEA workers to non-EEA workers in specific sectors of the economy providing critical care services to vulnerable members of our society. Heads are in preparation.

Notably, the Pay Transparency Bill which will transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into Irish law has not yet been added to the Priority Drafting List.

To learn more about partnering with Adare Trusted People Partners’ Leading HR & Employment Law Experts, please contact Neil McCormack nmccormack@adarehrm.ie today.