Vol. 537 No. 5
144 Mr. Stanton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the requirements to be met by an employer who wishes to recruit employees from outside the EEA area; the plans she has to modify these requirements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17092/01]
In general my Department is prepared to issue work permits for the employment in the State of non-European economic area, EEA, nationals in the State where an employer can demonstrate that, despite prior attempts, they have been unable to recruit a suitable Irish or other EEA national for the job(s) concerned. Employers must comply with all relevant labour law requirements in respect of the job concerned, for example, minimum wage levels, maximum hours of work permitted, etc.
A new application form for work permits, recently introduced, makes specific reference to the protection afforded to employees by Irish employment rights legislation. This must be brought to the attention of the prospective employee by the employer. The new form requires the signature of the employee, the employer and of any recruitment agent, where applicable. Also, on my initiative last year, the Government introduced a new simplified work visa-authorisation scheme to facilitate the recruitment of suitably qualified people from outside the EEA for designated sectors of the employment market where skill shortages are particularly acute, for example, for particular posts in the IT and construction sector and for registered nurses.
