The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced a statutory right to paid sick leave for the first time and was meant to be phased in from 2023 to 2026.

Employees are currently entitled to up to five days’ employer-paid sick leave in a year, paid at 70 per cent of gross salary up to a cap of €110 per day. This was set to be increased to seven days from 2025 and finally to 10 days in 2026.

However, The Irish Times reports that next year’s increase could be postponed under Fine Gael’s new leadership in order to reduce costs for businesses.

Finance minister Michael McGrath said the government “will consider what specific measures can be implemented to assist businesses, some of whom are struggling with high costs at the moment, while at the same time recognising we have an economy pretty much at full employment at the moment”.