Employer of Record in Ireland (2026): 5 Umbrella and Payroll Companies Reviewed

Hiring your first people in Ireland raises the question every foreign company meets: who will be the legal employer, and who runs PAYE? This ranking is written for a company from the US, the UK, another EU country or the Nordics that is looking for an employer of record in Ireland, or for a way to pay Irish contractors without an Irish entity. I say it plainly up front: I found no Irish-owned, Irish-headquartered provider of a full employer of record service. The 5 firms I kept are all registered in Ireland, but they are umbrella and contractor-payroll companies – they employ contractors you engage, not permanent staff you hire.

Employer of record in Ireland and umbrella companies at a glance

If you only have a minute, these are the employer of record in Ireland alternatives I would shortlist as a foreign company, in the order I would contact them. All five are umbrella or contractor-payroll providers; none is a confirmed full EOR.

1. Icon Accounting – Large Irish contractor umbrella and accountancy provider with published fees.
2. Fenero – Irish contractor accountants with a PAYE umbrella and solutions for non-resident contractors.
3. inTax – Company formation, payroll and umbrella services for IT and medical contractors.
4. Prima – Contractor umbrella and limited-company provider with an international contractor option.
5. Contracting PLUS – Irish contractor umbrella with PAYE, director and limited-company options since 2002.

How I ranked employer of record in Ireland and umbrella providers

I ranked the employer of record in Ireland alternatives by legal clarity first, track record second and fit for a foreign client third:

• Legal clarity – a published fee, a clear explanation of who employs the contractor, and a named company behind the brand. Icon Accounting publishes its fee; Contracting PLUS shows only a company number on its site.
• Track record – years in contractor services and the numbers of contractors or clients the firms claim.
• Foreign-client fit – options for non-resident contractors, international contractors and company formation.
• Reviews – none of the five has a usable Clutch or Google review sample, so for each one I name the strongest other signal.
• Registration – CRO numbers, legal form and incorporation dates come from solocheck.ie (CRO data) or North Data; where the number comes only from the firm’s own site, I say so.

The list includes only firms registered and headquartered in Ireland. I left out global EOR platforms that offer Ireland, such as Deel and Remote, because they are not Irish companies. Team sizes were not published, so I left them blank. If you also employ people in Britain, see employer of record and payroll companies in the UK.

The 5 best employer of record in Ireland alternatives, reviewed

Every employer of record in Ireland alternative below gets the same treatment: who they are, what the evidence says, the facts that matter when you hire, and my opinion on who should – and should not – work with them.

1. Icon Accounting

Large Irish contractor umbrella and accountancy provider with published fees

Icon Accounting, based at Columba House, Airside, Swords, has supported contractors since 2008 and says it has helped more than 3,500 contractors in IT, engineering, pharma and life sciences. It runs PAYE and Director umbrella companies, accounting for personal limited companies, services for recruitment agencies and support for contracting in the UK and EU. It is the only firm here that publishes its umbrella fee: from €30 a week before tax, with no set-up or leaving fees. The trading company was incorporated in 2014; the umbrella employer itself may be a separate group company, which I could not identify. Like every firm here, it is an umbrella and contractor-payroll provider, not a full employer of record: I could not confirm that it will employ a foreign company’s direct hires, so ask before you shortlist it.

What clients say. I found no usable Clutch or Google review sample. Its published fee and its claim of more than 3,500 contractors served are the strongest signals.

Facts: founded 2008 · Swords (Dublin Airport area) · English.

My take: my first call as a foreign client or agency that wants IT or pharma contractors in Ireland paid through an umbrella with a transparent fee. Best for: foreign clients and agencies paying IT, engineering or pharma contractors in Ireland through a transparent-fee umbrella. Not for: companies that want a full employer of record for permanent employees.

Visit iconaccounting.ie →Company profile & reviews →

2. Fenero

Irish contractor accountants with a PAYE umbrella and solutions for non-resident contractors

Fenero is a Dublin contractor-accounting firm operating since 2009. It offers Umbrella PAYE and Umbrella Director employment, personal limited companies and accounting for freelancers, and says it supports thousands of independent professionals. It also has solutions for non-residents – support for foreign limited companies and onward invoicing – for contractors who work for Irish clients through non-Irish companies. Its CRO number appears in its privacy policy. It is an umbrella and contractor-payroll provider, not a full employer of record: I could not confirm that it will employ a foreign company’s direct hires, so ask before you shortlist it.

What clients say. I found no usable Clutch or Google review sample. More than 15 years in contractor services and its non-resident options are the strongest signals.

Facts: founded 2009 · Dublin 15 (Tyrrelstown) · English.

My take: the firm I would brief when the contractors are Irish-based but invoice through foreign companies, or need a compliant PAYE umbrella. Best for: foreign companies engaging Irish-based contractors who need compliant PAYE through an Irish umbrella employer. Not for: foreign companies that want full EOR employment of permanent staff with benefits and HR.

Visit fenero.ie →Company profile & reviews →

3. inTax

Company formation, payroll and umbrella services for IT and medical contractors

inTax is a Sandyford accountancy and corporate-services firm offering company formation, VAT, payroll, annual accounts, corporate structuring and tax-residency advice. It runs umbrella and umbrella-director services for IT, pharma, big-tech and medical locum contractors, and claims more than 1,000 companies formed and more than 8,000 clients. Its terms say inTax.ie is a trading name of Intax Business Advisors Limited; the umbrella services run under related brands such as intaxcontracting.ie, whose employing company I could not identify. It is an umbrella and contractor-payroll provider, not a full employer of record: I could not confirm that it will employ a foreign company’s direct hires, so ask before you shortlist it.

What clients say. I found no usable Clutch or Google review sample. Its company-formation work alongside payroll – useful if you later set up your own Irish entity – is the strongest signal.

Facts: Sandyford (Dublin 18) · English.

My take: a good fit for a foreign company that wants help forming an Irish entity and running its payroll, or paying contractors meanwhile. Best for: foreign companies that want help forming an Irish entity and running payroll, or paying contractors through an umbrella. Not for: buyers who want a turnkey EOR without setting up an entity.

Visit intax.ie →Company profile & reviews →

4. Prima

Contractor umbrella and limited-company provider with an international contractor option

Prima is a Sandyford, Dublin provider of contractor umbrella and limited-company services, plus agency services and an “International Contractors” solution. It says it is trusted by thousands of clients in Ireland, the UK and Europe. Its website does not name the company behind it: I matched Prima Management Limited through the LinkedIn page linked from the site, and that company is in the CRO’s “Micro company” category, so the umbrella employer may be a separate company. It is an umbrella and contractor-payroll provider, not a full employer of record: I could not confirm that it will employ a foreign company’s direct hires, so ask before you shortlist it.

What clients say. I found no usable Clutch or Google review sample. Its international contractor option and more than 25 years of registered trading are the strongest signals.

Facts: founded 2000 · Sandyford (Dublin 18) · English.

My take: worth a call for cross-border contractors and agencies that need Irish umbrella payroll. Best for: cross-border contractors and agencies that need Irish umbrella payroll. Not for: companies that want a full employer of record for permanent employees.

Visit prima.ie →Company profile & reviews →

5. Contracting PLUS

Irish contractor umbrella with PAYE, director and limited-company options since 2002

Contracting PLUS is an Irish contractor-services firm advising contractors since 2002, at 84 Merrion Square South, Dublin, according to its site. It offers Umbrella PAYE and Umbrella Director options, accounting for personal limited companies and sole traders, and expat tax advice, with in-house financial advice. Anywherer.com’s shortlist of Irish umbrella companies lists it as Irish-owned and Dublin-based. The company number on its site is 360244; I could not read the registered name. It is an umbrella and contractor-payroll provider, not a full employer of record, so ask before you shortlist it.

What clients say. I found no usable Clutch or Google review sample. More than 20 years in contractor services is the main signal, but check the registered company behind the brand before you sign.

Facts: founded 2002 · Dublin (Merrion Square) · English.

My take: an option for agencies and foreign clients placing long-term contractors in Ireland, once you have checked the company behind it. Best for: agencies and foreign clients placing long-term contractors in Ireland. Not for: companies that want a full employer of record for permanent staff.

Visit contractingplus.com →Company profile & reviews →

Umbrella, EOR or your own company: what employer of record in Ireland really means

An employer of record in Ireland would be an Irish company that signs the employment contract, registers as the employer with Revenue, runs PAYE (income tax, PRSI and USC) and handles leave and other statutory rights, while you direct the day-to-day work. An umbrella company is narrower: it employs contractors who work for clients through an agency or directly, pays them through PAYE out of the contract rate and takes a weekly or monthly fee. That suits contractors, but it is not the same as employing permanent staff with benefits, a pension and HR support.

In practice a foreign company has three routes in Ireland:

• A global EOR platform – a foreign provider employs your staff in Ireland, usually through a local entity or partner. None of these is Irish-owned, so none is in this ranking.
• An Irish umbrella – for contractors, one of the five firms here. Ask which company actually employs the worker, because the brand on the site is often a different company from the one on the payslip.
• Register as an employer yourself – in many cases a foreign company can register with Revenue as an employer and run Irish payroll, or set up an Irish company first. inTax and the accounting firms in my separate ranking can help with company formation and payroll.

Agency workers in Ireland are generally entitled to the same basic pay and working conditions as comparable direct employees under the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012, and Revenue looks closely at whether a contractor is really self-employed. This is my plain-English summary for buyers, not legal or tax advice – check your own set-up with an Irish employment lawyer or tax adviser.

Quality, specialisation and what employer of record in Ireland alternatives charge

Among the employer of record in Ireland alternatives in this ranking, only Icon Accounting publishes a fee: its PAYE umbrella starts at €30 a week before tax, with no set-up or leaving fees. The others quote on request. Umbrella fees normally come out of the contractor’s gross pay rather than being billed to the client, and employer PRSI is usually funded from the contract rate too, so compare what the contractor takes home, not just the headline fee. All fees are in euros (EUR).

The main differences are a transparent fee and scale (Icon Accounting), solutions for non-resident contractors (Fenero), company formation alongside payroll (inTax), an international contractor option (Prima) and a long-established Dublin umbrella whose registered company I could not confirm (Contracting PLUS).

How to choose an employer of record in Ireland

Choosing an employer of record in Ireland starts with one question: are you hiring employees or engaging contractors?

• Permanent employees, no Irish entity – you need a full EOR, which none of the firms here confirmed. Ask any of them directly, or look at a global platform, or register as an employer yourself.
• Contractors on long assignments – an Irish umbrella; Icon Accounting publishes its fee, and Fenero handles contractors who invoice through foreign companies.
• Planning your own Irish company – inTax combines company formation with payroll.
• Cross-border contractors – Prima and Icon Accounting offer international or UK and EU contracting options.

Also check the paperwork when you choose an employer of record in Ireland or an umbrella. Look up the CRO number in the CRO’s free company search (CORE, at cro.ie), where you can see the legal form, status, registered office and filed documents, and check the VAT number (IE followed by digits and one or two letters) in the EU’s VIES database. With umbrellas, check which company actually employs the workers. Ireland runs on Irish time, the same as the UK and one hour behind Central European Time, which makes payroll cut-off calls easy from both Europe and the US East Coast. If cost matters more than location, see the same list for Poland, where salaries and fees are usually lower.

Employer of record in Ireland: FAQ

The questions foreign companies ask most before choosing an employer of record in Ireland.

My verdict: which employer of record in Ireland to use

There is no Irish-owned full employer of record in Ireland in my research, so for permanent employees you will need a global EOR platform or your own registration as an employer. For contractors, use Icon Accounting if you want a published fee, Fenero if your contractors invoice through foreign companies, and inTax if you plan to set up your own Irish company soon. Prima and Contracting PLUS are further umbrella options – check the company behind each brand first.

Whichever employer of record in Ireland or umbrella you choose, get the employing company, the full cost and the exit terms in writing before you sign.

Written by Adrian DąbrowieckiSEO consultant and founder of Marketer Coffee in Wrocław. I write every ranking on this site myself. Disclosure: Marketer Coffee is my agency.Last updated 7 Nov 2026Changelog · Nov 2026: first version, 5 companies

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