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Work Permit Application Numbers

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 January 2014

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Questions (322)

Michael Creed

Question:

322. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of work permits issued by his Department in each of the past three years to meat plants to employ non national meat boners; if his Department considers that there is a sustainable employment opportunity here for Irish workers; the efforts being made to establish appropriate training to meet this skills gap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2519/14]

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Written answers

It is current Government policy to issue new employment permits for highly skilled, highly paid eligible employments and where a minimum starting salary of €30,000 is on offer. A range of categories of employment, such as Meat Deboners, which would fall under the category of “General Operative” are classified as ineligible for new employment permits.

The statistics for the number of employment permits issued to meat plants over the past 3 years bear this out and are as follows:

Year

Total Permits Issued

2011

106

2012

138

2013

25

Of these, 28% were Spousal/Dependant employment permits, which are available for spouses/dependants of Green Card holders and Researchers and are open to all employments.

The remaining 72% of employment permits issued in this area would be renewals – i.e. in respect of non-EEA nationals already in the State in this employment who are renewing their employment permits or applying for a new employment permit for a new employer.

I am strongly of the view that this sector offers vital opportunities to create sustainable employment in Ireland. The statistics speak for themselves. There are currently over 10,000 people directly employed in meat processing and in many Irish towns the meat processing sector is still the biggest employer. In addition, approximately 75,000 farmers are supplying the meat processing sector. My Department and the Department of Social Protection are working closely together to ensure that the employment permits system works in tandem with, and in support of, the Cross-Government initiatives in place to reduce unemployment in the State, in particular in the area of assessing labour market demands in the context of the Live Register.

I understand that a potential skills gap in this area is currently being considered by my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills. In this context, Skillnets, the enterprise-led body funded through the National Training Fund (NTF) under the aegis of the Minister for Education and Skills, has been involved with two of its training networks in the development and provision of a range of knife skills courses for the beef, pork and poultry sectors. I understand that a boning and knife skills traineeship is under development for roll-out in 2014, following consultation with the meat industry and other stakeholders. Consultation with, and participation by, the meat industry in the development of such courses is vital in order to identify and address any skills gaps.

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