Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
494. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the consultation process regarding eligible occupation lists for employment permits; if this consultation will only examine the construction sector; the timeframe for the completion of the consultation and report of the outcome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54504/18]
View answerThe employment permits system is managed through the operation of the Highly Skilled Eligible Occupations List (HSEOL) and the Ineligible Categories of Employment List (ICEL). These occupations lists are reviewed twice yearly to keep pace with rapid labour market changes and to be proactively identifying and addressing shortages as they arise.
Ireland is a leader EU -wide in linking labour market intelligence to economic migration policy and is guided by research undertaken by Solas, the Expert group of Future Skills Needs, Government Strategies as well as through a public consultation process
A Review of these lists is underway at present and is expected to be finalised before the end of January 2019. The review commenced with a public call for submissions from stakeholders and interest groups requesting changes to the lists. Submissions have been received in respect of a range of occupations including many from the construction sector, and those submissions and other relevant research and data are now being examined.
Changes to the occupation lists are made following a clear demonstration that recruitment difficulties within Ireland and across the EEA are not as a result of factors such as salary, employment conditions or lack of upskilling opportunities but that genuine skills and labour shortages exist for the specific occupations in question.
Any proposed changes to the Highly Skilled and Ineligible lists will be submitted to me for approval following their consideration by the Interdepartmental Group on Economic Migration. Changes to the lists are made by way of amending Regulations under the Employment Permit Acts and it is expected that the process will be completed as soon as possible in early February. The outcome of the review of occupations lists will then be made available on the Department’s website.
