Vol. 573 No. 2
39 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the implications of the recent changes announced by her in regard to work permit eligibility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24491/03]
The Employment Permits Act 2003, which came into force in April 2003, provides for the freedom of movement, for purposes of work, of nationals of the ten EU accession states after accession. This means that after EU enlargement on 1 May 2004 employers will no longer require work permits to employ nationals of these states. Accordingly, a significant source of potential labour will become available to Irish employers outside the work permit system which should be of considerable benefit to employers who have not been able to find appropriate staff within the existing Irish or wider EEA labour markets.
The EU Accession Treaty, which was signed on 16 April 2003, contains a provision requiring member states, when considering employment permit applications henceforth, to give preference to applications in respect of accession state nationals. I issued a press statement on this matter on 1 August 2003. In light of this treaty requirement, my Department is now giving preferential consideration to applications for permits to employ accession state nationals in respect of jobs where we are satisfied that there is an adequate pool of suitable skills available in the accession states. In other cases, especially for higher skills, employers will be free to submit applications in respect of prospective employees from the wider world.
Accession countries accounted for 34% of work permits issued in 2002 and the percentage has remained unchanged to date in 2003. My Department is confident that in light of EU accession Irish employers will be able to find the great majority of their overseas personnel needs from within the enlarged EU, thus obviating the need for work permits. The Department will be working to this end with FÁS and with the relevant authorities in various accession states in the months ahead. I consider that full exploitation of the potential in this area will not only be of considerable benefit to employers, but will also allow Ireland to show an appropriate degree of solidarity with members of the workforce in the accession countries who may wish to work in Ireland.
