SDG 8.7.1 Proportion and number of children aged 5‑17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age, is covered under legislation by the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.7.1 metadata document gives the definition as follows: The number of children engaged in child labour corresponds to the number of children reported to be in child labour during the reference period. The proportion of children in child labour is calculated as the number of children in child labour divided by the total number of children in the population. For the purposes of this indicator, children include all persons aged 5 to 17.
According to the Irish Statute Book under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 employers cannot employ children under age 16 years in regular full-time jobs. Children under age 14 years cannot be employed. Children aged 14 and 15 years may be employed as follows:
Children aged 15 years may do 8 hours a week light work in school term time. The maximum working week for children outside school term time is 35 hours or up to 40 hours if they are on approved work experience.
The maximum working week for children aged 16 and 17 years is 40 hours with a maximum of 8 hours a day.
Further information is available on the WRC and citizens information website.
SDG 8.8.1 Fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents per 100,000 workers, by sex and migrant status is reported by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.8.1 metadata document gives the definition as follows: This indicator provides information on the number of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers in the reference group during the reference period. It is a measure of the personal likelihood or risk of having a fatal or a non-fatal occupational injury for each worker in the reference group.
Data on workplace accidents (correct at the time of publication) come from the Health and Safety Authority’s “Annual Review of Workplace Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities, 2023-2024”, with some updated data also available.
According to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) there were 61 fatal work-related accidents in Ireland in 2025.
Of 61 fatal accidents in 2025, three occurred to female victims and 58 occurred to male victims. Figure 6.1 shows the age bands and gender of victims. Over 59% of fatal accidents involved victims aged 55 years or more, with 17 victims (27.9%) aged 55–64 years and 19 victims (31.1%) aged 65 years or more.
| X-axis label | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 0-17 Years | 1 | 0 |
| 18-24 Years | 2 | 1 |
| 25-34 Years | 1 | 0 |
| 35-44 Years | 5 | 0 |
| 45-54 Years | 15 | 0 |
| 55-64 Years | 17 | 0 |
| 65 Years and Over | 17 | 2 |
Data in Table 6.1 show the largest number of fatal accidents in 2025 occurred in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, with 27, 44% of all fatal accidents in 2025. Eleven fatal accidents occurred to workers in Construction. Five workers in Transportation and Storage died in workplace accidents in 2025.
Data is reported on worker fatal incident rates per 100,000 workers by nationality. The rate of fatal accidents among Irish workers in 2024 was 1.2 per 100,000 workers, while the rate for non Irish workers was 0.4 per 100,000 workers. See Table 6.2.
There were large regional variations over this time period. In 2024, the number of fatal accidents per 100,000 workers ranged from a high of 2.6 in the South East to 0.5 in Dublin. See Table 6.3.
In 2024, a total of 10,441 non-fatal workplace accidents were reported to the Health and Safety Authority. Of these, 96% related to workers. The highest number of accidents (2,428) were reported in the NACE economic sector Health and Social Work, which accounted for 23% of all injuries. See Table 6.4.
SDG 8.8.2 Level of national compliance of labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.8.2 metadata document gives the definition as follows: The indicator measures the level of national compliance with fundamental rights at work (freedom of association and collective bargaining, FACB) for all ILO member states based on six international ILO supervisory body textual sources and also on national legislation.
Information for Ireland
Ireland has ratified all of the fundamental labour conventions, including C098 - Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No.98) and C087 - Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No.87).
Annual report requests can be viewed on the ILO website through Reporting Obligations.
Reports are reviewed by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. The Committee on Freedom of Association provides further oversight on Conventions 87 and 98.
SDG 8.9.1 Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate is published by Eurostat, Tourism Satellite Accounts in Europe – 2023 edition.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.9.1 metadata document gives the definition as follows: Tourism Direct GDP (TDGDP) is defined as the sum of the part of gross value added (at basic prices) generated by all industries in response to internal tourism consumption plus the amount of net taxes on products and imports included within the value of this expenditure at purchasers’ prices.
Tourism provided 4.8% of GDP and 4.4% of GVA in 2022. See Table 6.5.
SDG 8.9.2 Employed persons in the tourism industries, related information is published by the CSO, Employee Series from Administrative Data Sources, a Frontier Series publication.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.9.2 metadata document gives the definition as follows: Number of employed persons in the tourism industries.
The number of employees in tourism industries has risen from 203,500 in June 2019, to 226,600 in June 2025, a rise of 11.3%, increasing every year since 2020. See Table 6.6.
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