Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Jan 1999

Vol. 499 No. 1

Written Answers. - Work Permits.

Michael Ring

Question:

160 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the regulations for work permit approval of a Chinese national; and if these regulations apply to all non-EU nationals as standard or are they specifically tailored to those from China. [1408/99]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

At present a work permit must be obtained from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment by any employer who wishes to employ any person who is not a national of a member country of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA comprises the member states of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Work permits have, generally, only been issued in respect of prospective employees who have very specialised skills or qualifications which are not readily available either here or elsewhere in the EU-EEA.

Before issuing such permits employers are expected to demonstrate that they have made reasonable efforts to employ an Irish or other EEA national for the job and have been unable to do so. Details of the qualifications or special expertise of the individual who may be the subject of an application are also required. There are also requirements as to compliance with the relevant immigration legislation. These requirements apply to all non EEA nationals who may be the subject of a work permit application. There are no special requirements in respect of Chinese nationals.

The current work permit regime is based on administrative practice and I will shortly be bringing proposals to Government to place these matters on a statutory footing.

Michael Ring

Question:

161 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason a work permit application for a person (details supplied) was refused in view of the shortage of people here with the same qualifications and training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1409/99]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

The application referred to by the Deputy was refused by my Department for a number of reasons.

The post in respect of which the application was made was a general one for which specialist skills did not appear essential and which, it was felt, could be carried out by an Irish or other European Economic Area national. No details of any special qualifications for the job were submitted by the applicant. Neither was a CV in respect of the individual concerned submitted with the application. Furthermore, no evidence whatsoever was submitted by the applicant of any attempt to recruit an Irish or other EEA national for the job. Finally, it appeared that the person in respect of whom the application was made had, in fact, already been working illegally in the establishment concerned in contravention of the relevant legislation [section 3 of the Aliens (Amendment) Order 1975].

Michael Ring

Question:

162 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of work permits issued to non-EU nationals for the hotel and catering industry for each of the years from 1996-8. [1411/99]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

The total number of work permits granted to employers to allow them to employ non-EEA nationals in the State in the sector concerned for the years 1996-8 were as follows:

Year	New Permits	Renewals	Total Issued
1996	206	190	396
1997	245	294	539
1998	315	300	615

Michael Ring

Question:

163 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of non EU nationals in Ireland with a current work permit; their country of nationality; and the industry of their work. [1412/99]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

The number of work permits granted to employers to allow them to employ non-European Economic Area nationals in the State for the year 1998 was 5,789; of these 3,670 were new work permits, 1,881 were renewals and 238 were group permits.

The nationality of people in respect of whom work permits are issued and the industry-sector for which the permits were granted are compiled on an annual basis. The full listings for the year 1998 are set out in Tables 1 and 2 respectively.

TABLE 1

Year	Nationality	New Permits	Renewals	Group	Issued
1998	Algeria	37	12	0	49
	Angola	5	0	0	5
	Argentina	11	1	0	12
	Armenia	1	3	0	4
	Australia	230	88	0	318
	Bahamas	1	0	0	1
	Bahrain	4	1	0	5
	Bangladesh	14	37	0	51
	Barbados	9	2	0	11
	Belarus	3	5	0	8
	Bolivia	1	0	0	1
	Bosnia	3	4	0	7
	Botswana	4	0	0	4
	Brazil	17	18	0	35
	Brunei	18	2	0	20
	Bulgaria	14	2	0	16
	Burma	1	1	0	2
	Cameroon	2	4	0	6
	Canada	156	72	0	228
Year	Nationality	New Permits	Renewals	Group	Issued
1998	Chile	3	0	0	3
	China	51	67	0	118
	Colombia	3	3	0	6
	Croatia	13	9	0	22
	Cuba	14	2	0	16
	Cyprus	2	2	0	4
	Czech Republic	27	14	0	41
	Ecuador	1	0	0	1
	Egypt	28	21	0	49
	Eritrea	0	1	0	1
	Estonia	4	0	0	4
	Ethiopia	4	2	0	6
	Ghana	3	0	0	3
	Guatemala	2	0	0	2
	Guernsey, UK	1	0	0	1
	Guinea Republic	1	0	0	1
	Guyana	1	0	0	1
	Hong Kong	62	87	0	149
	Hungary	44	17	0	61
	India	328	122	0	450
	Indonesia	3	0	0	3
	Iran	24	12	0	36
	Iraq	19	12	0	31
	Israel	68	7	0	75
	Ivory Coast	3	1	0	4
	Jamaica	2	3	0	5
	Japan	112	144	0	256
	Jordan	6	3	0	9
	Kenya	10	8	0	18
	Korea (Republic of)	2	19	0	21
	Korea (Democratic People's Republic)	6	0	0	6
	Kuwait	6	3	0	9
	Latvia	3	1	0	4
	Lebanon	12	3	0	15
	Liberia	1	0	0	1
	Libya	15	10	0	25
	Lithuania	6	3	0	9
	Macedonia	1	1	0	2
	Malaysia	134	69	0	203
	Malta	3	2	0	5
	Mauritius	12	3	0	15
	Mexico	20	13	0	33
	Moldova	4	2	0	6
	Morocco	14	3	0	17
	Mozambique	1	0	0	1
	Napal	5	2	0	7
	New Zealand	126	38	0	164
	Nicaragua	1	0	0	1
	Nigeria	37	14	0	51
	Oman	3	0	0	3
	Pakistan	120	104	0	224
	Palestine	7	4	0	11
	Panama	1	0	0	1
	Papua New Guinea	1	0	0	1
	Peru	0	1	0	1
	Philippines	38	25	0	63
	Poland	62	22	0	84
	Qatar	1	1	0	2
	Romania	46	14	0	60
	Russia	70	34	0	104
	Rwanda	1	0	0	1
	Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	2
	Sierra Leone	3	0	0	3
	Singapore	24	11	0	35
	Slovak Republic	11	9	0	20
	Slovenia	7	6	0	13
	Somali	1	0	0	1
	South Africa	128	55	0	183
	South Korea	9	13	0	22
	Sri Lanka	15	8	0	23
	Sudan	23	11	0	34
	Swaziland	2	0	0	2
	Switzerland	129	49	0	178
	Syria	6	3	0	9
	Taiwan	0	1	0	1
Year	Nationality	New Permits	Renewals	Group	Issued
1998	Tanzania	4	3	0	7
	Thailand	13	8	0	21
	Trinidad	14	8	0	22
	Tunisia	10	0	0	10
	Turkey	39	23	0	62
	Uganda	1	0	0	1
	Ukraine	6	7	0	13
	Uruguay	0	2	0	2
	U.A.E.	10	2	0	12
	U.S.A.	1,014	445	0	1,459
	U.S.S.R.	3	12	0	15
	Venezuela	12	2	0	14
	Vietnam	0	3	0	3
	Yugoslavia	34	19	0	53
	Zaire	2	0	0	2
	Zambia	2	0	0	2
	Zimbabwe	18	0	0	18
	(Group Permits)	0	0	238	238
	Total for 1998	3,670	1,881	238	5,789

TABLE 2

Year	Sector	New Permits	Renewals	Group	Issued
1998	Agriculture and Fisheries	62	7	0	69
	Catering	315	300	0	615
	Domestic	21	36	0	57
	Education	177	127	0	304
	Entertainment	170	33	232	435
	Exchange Agreements	34	3	0	37
	Industry	400	314	2	716
	Medical & Nursing	431	202	0	633
	Service Industry	2,005	858	4	2,867
	Sport	55	1	0	56
	Total for 1998	3,670	1,881	238	5,789