The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is calling on the government to protect young workers from “exploitative” unpaid internships, with claims they're discriminatory against lower income families who can't support adult children through traineeships.
They are also calling on the government to take advantage of the fact Ireland is hosting the Presidency of the European Union to advance the proposed EU Traineeships Directive.
This follows recent discussion in the Seanad, as Labour Senator and spokesperson on Rural and Community Development: Workers Rights, Nessa Cosgrove, shared the National Minimum Wage (Inclusion of Young Persons, Apprentices and Interns) Bill 2025: Second Stage to Labour Senator Laura Harmon.
Commenting on the proposed legislation, ICTU understands that unpaid internships are “only available to those who have access to the bank of mum and dad,” therefore disallowing young people from working-class backgrounds to succeed in certain careers.
EU Data shows that 37% of young Irish people have received no financial compensation during their last traineeship. Data from the Central Statistics Office shows ongoing challenges for younger people entering the workforce. Currently, the CSO unemployment rate for young people aged 15–24 is 47,900, 4,000 more than 2025.
In 2024, The European Commission proposed a total ban on unpaid internships through the Traineeships Directive, however the directive still has not received final approval as the latest round of negotiations on this issue were cancelled last week.
The Irish presidency of the European Union started on the 1st of July and is set to take place until the end of the year. During those 6 months, the Irish Government is planning to host about 22 minister-level council meetings, as well as a major summit of nearly 50 European presidents and prime ministers in Dublin in November.
Hosting the EU presidency is estimated to cost about €300 million. More than a third of that will go towards security costs.
In a letter to Irish employment minister Peter Burke, ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy and European Officer Gerry McCormack said Europe urgently needs “stronger protections against abusive traineeships and the misuse of traineeships as substitutes for regular employment.”
Speaking to Radio Nova News, the ETUC Confederal Secretary Tea Jarc said:
“The Irish government is taking the presidency of the EU at a time when young people in Ireland and across Europe will be leaving school, college or university and looking to take a first step in their careers.
“A traineeship can be a very useful bridge between education and employment, giving young people a foot in the door. But too many of the people looking for that important first opportunity this summer will find themselves locked out because they don’t have the thousand euro a month or more needed to support themselves through an unpaid internship."
“The Irish government owes it to those young people to get the Traineeship Directive over the line and ensure that opportunities no longer depend on access to the bank of mum and dad."
Owen Reidy, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said:
"No young person's career should be decided by whether their family can afford to bankroll a thousand euro a month for an unpaid internship."
"With 37% of young Irish people getting no financial compensation in their last traineeship, unpaid traineeships are clearly a structural barrier that locks out working class talent before their careers have even begun. The Irish presidency is a real opportunity to get this directive over the line, and we expect the government to use it."
Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove, backs the ICTU stating:
“I fully support the call from ICTU for the government to use its Presidency of the European Union to advance the Traineeships Directive. Ireland has an opportunity to show leadership by helping to deliver legislation that will finally put an end to exploitative unpaid internships across Europe."
“Too often unpaid internships are presented as an opportunity, but the reality is they come with very real costs. Young people still have to pay for transport, lunches and other day-to-day expenses simply to turn up to work. That is fundamentally unfair and means that young people from lower and middle income households get locked out of valuable experience simply because they cannot afford to work for nothing.
“Labour has consistently argued that work must be valued fairly and that everyone deserves decent pay and decent conditions. Minister Peter Burke must make this a priority during Ireland’s EU Presidency. We cannot allow this legislation to remain stalled while another generation of young workers faces exploitation. Ireland should use its influence to build support for the Traineeships Directive and end unpaid internships.”
