Robert Troy
Question:44. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to deal with the average 16-week wait for working permits. [42666/18]
View answerThursday, 18 October 2018
Questions (44)
Written answers
As the economy improves and we approach full employment my Department has experienced a high volume of employment permit applications in recent months which has led to some delays in processing applications.
At the end of September 2018, the total number of employment permit applications accepted was 12,530, a 29% increase over the same period in 2017.
During this period, the total number of employment permits issued was 9,284 a 10% increase over the same period in 2017.
The Employment Permits section in my Department is working to reduce the current waiting times of six weeks for applications from Trusted Partners who are regular users of the service, and account for 71% of total permits issued, and sixteen weeks for Standard applications, which account for 29% of permits issued.
My officials have been proactively engaging with customers to notify them of current delays through email, meetings and regular updates on the Employment Permits section of my Department’s website.
In order to reduce processing times, the Employment Permits section has introduced a number of operational changes, streamlined processes and implemented ICT solutions. Additional staffing resources have also been assigned to the section and a fast track training programme has been devised. I can assure you that all available resources are being deployed with the aim of reducing processing times.
Overall, the number of applications awaiting processing is starting to reduce as a result of the changes that have been implemented and this is expected to continue.
A reduction in processing times is anticipated in the coming weeks as the changes being implemented start to bear fruit.