Vol. 538 No. 3
106 Mr. Yates asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will confirm receipt of work permit applications from a company (details supplied) in County Wexford; if these applications will be urgently processed; when the applications in question will be processed; and the position in this regard. [17759/01]
I can confirm that the applications concerned were received in my Department on 7 June 2001. It is the policy of this Department to process all applications for work permits strictly in the order in which they are received. Assuming that an application has been completed correctly and is otherwise in order, it should take approximately seven weeks to process from date of receipt.
The processing time has increased due to the unprecedented number of applications being received in my Department. The number has increased from an average of 600 per week at the end of 2000 to an average of 1,000 a week currently. Increases in staff resources and overtime working have facilitated the issue of over 14,000 work permits in the first five months of 2001 compared to 4,175 which were issued in the same period last year. Last week a total of 1,343 applications were received.
My Department is continuing to examine options for significantly reducing the processing time for the issue of permits. However, in light of the continuing increase in demand for non-EEA labour, employers will have to engage in an appropriate level of forward planning. In this context it should not be forgotten that we are part of the wider European Union labour market and that employers can recruit from that market without any need for work permits.
107 Mr. Stagg asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will give priority in relation to work permit applications in respect of countries where the Government has no embassy; if she will review the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17826/01]
Some forward planning by employers is necessary in order to facilitate processing of applications for work permits-visas in view of the rapidly increasing demand for non-EEA labour. It is the policy of this Department to process all applications for work permits strictly in the order in which they are received. Assuming that an application has been completed correctly and is otherwise in order, it should take approximately seven weeks to process from date of receipt. The processing time has increased due to the unprecedented number of applications being received in my Department. The number has increased from an average of 600 per week at the end of 2000 to an average of 1,000 a week currently. Increases in staff resources and overtime working have facilitated the issue of over 14,000 work permits in the first five months of 2001 compared to 4,175 which were issued in the same period last year. My Department is continuing to examine options for significantly reducing the processing time for the issue of permits.
