Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 5

Written Answers. - Work Permits.

Ivor Callely

Question:

138 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of work permits issued in the past 36 months to non-EU nationals; the areas of industry which sought such work permits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22599/01]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

144 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of applications for work permits received by her Department in the past 12 months; the number processed during that period; the number approved; the number rejected; the estimated time within which an application is processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23227/01]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

157 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on whether there is sufficient staff allocated to the work permit section of her Department; and if the allocation of additional staff would help to eliminate the backlog. [23063/01]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 138, 144 and 157 together.

The number of applications for work permits received by my Department in the 12 months to 30 September 2001 was 38,037 applications. This includes new applications and applications for renewal of work permits.

With effect from 1 July 2001 when a pre-check vetting system was introduced by the work permits section only correct and complete applications were accepted. This means that incomplete applications or those applications that are not accompanied by the correct fee including the necessary photographs and documentation are returned and are not regarded as valid applications for statistical purposes.

The number of work permit applications processed during the 12 months in question was 35,985 and includes the number of applications issued, refused and withdrawn. The number of work permits issued in this period was 34,150, the number refused was 707 and the number withdrawn was 1,128.

The number of work permits issued in respect of the various sectors of industry in the past 36 months are as follows:

Sector	1998 Oct-Dec	1999	2000	2001 Jan-Sept
Agriculture/Fisheries	19	449	2,980	4,168
Catering	200	694	3,920	6,991
Domestic	22	80	200	374
Education	145	304	370	333
Exchange Agreements	4	60	75	49
Entertainment	124	452	651	786
Industry	211	414	1,750	2,227
Medical & Nursing	182	721	1,360	1,652
Service Industry	922	3,010	6,580	10,219
Sport	16	60	120	80
Total	1,845	6,244	18,006	26,879

The number of work permit applications issued by my Department increased by 300% last year and by a further 200% this year. Increases in staff resources and overtime have facilitated the issue of more than 26,800 work permits in the first nine months of this year compared to 18,000 for the full year in 2000. It is currently taking more than 40 working days to process applications.

Approval was received late last year for a 50% increase in staffing in the work permits section. The appointment of these additional staff has facilitated the processing of increased work permit numbers this year. A further request to increase staffing levels has recently been made and I understand this request is currently being considered by the Department of Finance. Some staff from within the Department have been reassigned to the work permits section also.

Policy for the issuing of work permits is being kept under close scrutiny in the light of recent negative world wide economic developments.