Vol. 495 No. 7
50 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the shortage of chefs and other skilled staff in restaurants; and the reason work permits in respect of fully qualified chefs are considered only in the case of new upmarket ethnic restaurants. [19955/98]
I understand that a comprehensive training infrastructure has been put in place to address skills shortages in the tourism industry and that CERT spends approximately £12 million per annum training people, including chefs. Over the next few years CERT will continue to target more than 12,000 people per annum for training in this sector.
My Department accepts however that in the area of ethnic restaurants there is a case for granting work permits to qualified chefs and trainers where specialist expertise is required. Accordingly, it is our policy to grant, on request, a limited number of work permits in respect of non-EEA nationals to new restaurants setting up in this country. There is no policy of confining permits to up-market restaurants and each application is considered on its merits. In the past permits were granted only to those working in upmarket restaurants. However, this policy changed before I took office.
I challenge the Minister's response.
It is not normal for a Deputy to challenge the Minister. Deputy O'Keeffe must ask a question.
Did the Minister write to me a few weeks ago stating that the Department will consider only applications from upmarket ethnic restaurants which employ fully qualified chefs? That is the basis on which I put down this question. Does the Minister accept there is a huge shortage of qualified chefs and other catering staff given that a great number of new hotels and restaurants have opened? It is unwise to restrict the skills supply. When there is a shortage of skilled staff, the Minister should be willing to issue visas to suitably qualified applicants.
I apologise if I wrote that in a letter to the Deputy. I assure him that staff working in restaurants which are not upmarket or expensive have been granted work permits. That has been the case in the Department for quite a while. I will review the case referred to by the Deputy again. Only 6 per cent of applications for work permits are refused by the Department; 94 per cent of applications are currently being granted.
I am glad the Minister has agreed to review the case I mentioned.
I do not know of the case.
I do not want to give the pertinent details but it relates to a restaurant in Bantry where ten Irish nationals and one Australian chef are employed. Perhaps the Minister was not given the details, but she refused to grant the chef a visa to continue to work. The consequence of this may be the closure of the restaurant. While I am glad the Minister will look at the case again, will she also look at the broader circumstances? New hotels are being opened every day of the week, particularly in Dublin. Surely she realises there is a shortage of skilled staff and we must be open to bringing in suitably qualified staff from abroad until our training facilities are expanded to meet the full market demand.
I do not know whether the restaurant in Bantry to which the Deputy referred is an Australian restaurant, as we are discussing ethnic restaurants.
It is an Irish restaurant.
I will examine the chef's case. I am aware of staff shortages. In the new Plaza Hotel in Tallaght, notwithstanding that there are 5,200 people on the live register there, many of the staff are Spanish. There are staffing problems in the hotel and catering industry which are due not only to a skills shortage. Some people do not want to work in that sector which is a great pity. We need to examine why this is happening.
Wages.
No, the wages were very competitive. Most applications for work permits are granted, 94 per cent have been approved in the past 12 months and 6 per cent have been refused. This is a high proportion by any standards. Where an employer can demonstrate there is a need for staff which cannot be fulfilled domestically, even if there is not an ethnic necessity, work permits are granted. I am considering putting work permit legislation on a statutory basis. It is not on a statutory basis at the moment and appeals go to the Minister. An independent process for approving and appealing work permits would be more satisfactory. Their consideration could be taken out of the direct influence of Ministers as this consumes an enormous amount of time, notwithstanding that only 6 per cent of applications are refused. A high proportion of representations made to me relate to work permits. We need to put the granting of work permits on a statutory basis so everyone is clear about the ground rules.
Is the Minister aware that her Department operates a policy whereby if a person applies to bring in a Chinese chef to work in a Chinese restaurant, he or she is likely to receive an answer that there are enough ethnic chefs in this country? This is equivalent to saying to Mick McCarthy that because a person is good at playing basketball he or she is perfectly suitable to be included in his soccer team. Special skills are needed to cook Chinese food, as special skills are needed to cook Thai and Indian food. Will she ensure her Department does not deal with requests for ethnic chefs on a global basis, as it were? When she eats Chinese, Indian or Thai food, I am sure she realises it is different and requires different skills. Her Department operates that policy, despite her saying that only 6 per cent of applications are refused.
I hope that is not the case. We have difficulties with a small number of ethnic restaurants whose staff mobility has given rise to concern, and one or two of those restaurants have been under investigation. That is not the policy, nor has it been the practice for some considerable time. When decisions come to my attention where that view has been taken — I do not believe that is the case but there may be exceptional cases — the tendency is to approve the application for a work permit, and that will continue to be the practice. In a society like ours, choice is important and it is good for our bigger cities to have a suitable number of different ethnic restaurants. I probably spend too much time in some of them. I agree with the Deputy that a Chinese or Thai person is probably the most appropriate person to cook their native food.
