Two thirds of people say tipping in Ireland ‘becoming less voluntary’ – study

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

Two thirds of people believe that tipping in Ireland is becoming less voluntary, and 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 on behalf of Ireland’s competition regulator.

It found that 8 per cent of consumers tipped mistakenly on a tipping terminal, which they have estimated could mean almost €500,000 has been mistakenly paid on these terminals.

It also 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 but they have felt they have to, 67 per cent believe that tipping in Ireland is becoming less voluntary, and 75 per cent would like to see businesses make it easier to opt out of tipping.

One fifth of consumers said they had an unexpected charge on a bill in the past six months, with 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.

Ireland’s competition regulator, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), has said these should always be notified in writing to the consumer on signage and on the menu “in a clear enough manner so that they are unlikely to be missed”.

The CCPC said it was of the opinion that consumers should be given a “yes/no” screen before percentages or amounts are suggested, or the “No Tip/Skip” option should be the most prominent option on the screen.

It said that tipping on a payment terminal should be easy to avoid; that tipping terminals should be separate to payments and clearly labelled; and 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.

It said it would offer education to traders on collecting tips, review consumer contacts to their helpline where potential misleading or unfair treatment in relation to tipping has been mentioned.