The introduction of the auto-enrolment pension scheme is to be delayed again with Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers indicating it is likely to be pushed back beyond the planned September introduction date.
Proposed increases to the minimum wage are also to be deferred as part of Government plans to support businesses amid the economic uncertainty caused by US tariffs.
Speaking to RTÉ’s This Week programme, Mr Chambers said the Government’s long-awaited auto-enrolment scheme was now “likely to be pushed beyond September but it’s likely to still occur in a short number of months after September”.
He said the commencement date was under active consideration by Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary, who will update Government in the coming weeks.
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“Auto-enrolment is going to be absolutely essential to build sustainability for pensions in the long term,” he said.
He linked the latest deferral to the scale of administrative work involved and to the sequencing of other Government measures while insisting the commencement date would only be “marginally” adjusted.
The Government’s auto-enrolment plan is aimed at capturing up to 800,000 workers between the ages of 23 and 60 and earning more than €20,000 who are not currently part of a pension plan.
Businesses, however, complain that a raft of pro-worker legislation enacted by the Government, including increases in the minimum wage, have placed an unfair financial burden on firms already struggling with higher costs.
Minister Chambers indicated that the Government is “considering the overall cumulative impact on costs for businesses and competitiveness within the Irish economy”.
“Within that the Government is considering how we sequence the overall timing of the implementation for the minimum wage,” he said, suggesting “the nature and scale of the increases may be extended over a slightly longer period”.
“The number one focus for Government is to protect jobs, to drive competitiveness, and that’s why separately, we’ll be establishing a cost of business advisory forum to sustainably manage the overall cost for business,” he said.
