Two thirds of people believe that tipping in Ireland is becoming less voluntary. 75 per cent have said they would like it to be easier to opt out, according to a survey. The research was carried out among a nationally representative online survey of 1,048 consumers by Ipsos B&A in October 2025.

Tipping Trends

It found that 8 per cent of consumers tipped mistakenly on a tipping terminal. They have estimated could mean almost €500,000 has been mistakenly paid on these terminals. It found that 8 per cent of people had left a tip when they had not originally intended to when they last were shown a tipping screen on a card payment system. Over half (58 per cent) agreed that they would sometimes rather not tip. 67 per cent believe that tipping in Ireland is becoming less voluntary. A fifth of consumers said they had an unexpected charge on a bill in the past six months. Half of these stating that it was a mandatory service charge. Three quarters of these consumers paid the unexpected charge, with half saying the experience was at least moderately stressful.

Tipping Regulations

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), has said these should always be notified in writing to the consumer. This should be on signage and on the menu “in a clear enough manner so that they are unlikely to be missed”. It was of the opinion that consumers should be given a “yes/no” screen before percentages or amounts are suggested. Alternatively, the “No Tip/Skip” option should be the most prominent option on the screen. Tipping on a payment terminal should be easy to avoid. They added that tipping terminals should be separate to payments and clearly labelle. Additionally, that mandatory service charges must be very clearly communicated in advance. It has published advice to employers about tipping in Ireland and said it would assess whether changes or updates to legislation is required. By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.