The European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018, which I signed into effect from 30 June 2018, includes access to the labour market for qualified international protection applicants. The Regulations provide a wide access to both employment and self-employment in almost all sectors and categories of employment.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department provides confirmation in writing to any qualified applicant of their entitlement to access the labour market, for use when they apply for a job or become self employed. It is a free, easy to use, accessible service with a very short turnaround from receipt of application to the sending out of the workplace permission. It is a very broad access to the workplace.
I am advised by INIS that since the introduction of the Regulations, a total of 2,521 international protection applicants have applied for a permission to access the labour market of which 1,743 were granted a permission and 739 were ineligible mainly due to the fact that they had already received a first instance decision and were found not to have established their claim for international protection. Qualified applicants are those who have not received a first instance decision within nine months and once the applicant meets that criteria, there is no impediment in them getting the permission quickly and lawfully engaging in labour market activity.
I am further informed that the table below sets out the position as at 26 November 2018.
Applications to INIS for access to
the Labour Market
|
July
|
August
|
September
|
October
|
November
|
Granted
|
955
|
285
|
189
|
205
|
109
|
Ineligible
|
322
|
161
|
107
|
85
|
64
|
Pending**
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8
|
31
|
Total
|
1277
|
446
|
296
|
298
|
204
|
** Pending applications include those in which further documentation is required from the applicant, or applications for which the permission is ready to issue upon expiration of 9 months from the initial protection application.