On a day-to-day basis Congress is run by an executive committee and a staffed secretariat headed up by the general secretary, Owen Reidy who succeeded Patricia King in the position in 2022.

Justin McCamphill of NASUWT became President of Congress at the biennial conference in Kilkenny in July 2023 succeeding Kevin Callinan of Fórsa.

For many years the union leaders agreed to dampen pay rises in return for regular reductions in income tax rates.

[citation needed] In an assessment of the post-partnership situation, Congress general secretary David Begg prepared a strategic review paper in which he identified the increasing weakness of the Congress and individual trade unions being due to "recession and change in the balance of power with capital" as well as job cuts, poor organisation, especially in high-technology companies, and a growing rift between public and private sector employees.[when?

[6] A "mass rally", organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Amnesty International, and the Rainbow Project in support of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland[7] took place on 13 June 2015 in Belfast, with a 20,000 person turnout.