Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
567. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she will consider amending a specific category under the employment permit regulations to address shortages in an area which is reaching a critical point with increasing demand for the job skill (details supplied). [25202/18]
View answerAt my request, my Department is currently chairing an Interdepartmental Group to review the economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system, the purpose of which is to ensure that our current policies are fully supportive of Ireland’s emerging labour market needs, be they skills or labour shortages in certain sectors. A full report on the review is due by end June, with recommendations on a framework for the future operation of the employment permits regime. Following on from that Report, it is expected that a review of the lists of occupations for employment permits will be conducted in the second half of this year. The Deputy will appreciate that retention issues in the State’s labour market should not be addressed through the deployment of the employment permits system. Healthcare Assistants are currently included on the ineligible list of employments. In order to remove an occupation from this list, there would need to be a clear demonstration that recruitment difficulties are solely due to shortages and not to other factors such as salary and/or working conditions. Organisations in the relevant sector would need to provide the necessary data to substantiate their claims. A detailed business case for removal of Healthcare Assistants from the ineligible list, based on this detailed data, would then need to be put forward by the Department of Health, as the lead Department for the sector, to my Department. I am aware that my colleague, Minister of State Daly, with special responsibility for Older People, has had various meetings with the nursing home sector and this matter has been discussed. To date, such detailed evidence has yet to be provided by the sector to his Department. However, I understand Minister Daly is willing to work with the industry on this important issue to ensure continuity of service in the best interests of residents.
