Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 June 2021
149. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will advise on circumstances outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33369/21]
View answerIreland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration while minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour market. The system is, by design, vacancy led and driven by the changing needs of the labour market, expanding and contracting in tandem with its inherent fluctuations.
The State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of the State and other EEA states. Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and EEA, an employment permit may be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national.
Since the outset the Covid-19 pandemic my Department has implemented a contingency plan to ensure that the Employment Permit system will continue to operate in all scenarios. Under the Covid-19 Employment Permits Contingency Arrangements, published by my Department on 30th March 2020, a 100% refund of the application fee may be granted in cases where an application is withdrawn in advance of a decision being taken on it. However, the current employment permits legislation does not provide for a refund to be granted after an employment permit has issued, or to offset the fee paid for an issued Employment Permit against a different/new application.
The issue of refunds is being considered in the context of the development of the new Employment Permit (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill.
Furthermore, the employment permits system is run on the principle of cost recovery and while not uniquely, the Employment Permits Acts do not provide that the system reflect the cost of administering the service and enforcing the regime, there is an expectation that there is a nexus between fee income and the expenditure of administrating the service, including enforcement and provision of information, in the medium term.
Further information in relation to the contingency arrangements introduced by Employment Permits Section in response to the pandemic can be accessed on my Department’s website via the following link: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/COVID-19-Employment-Permits-System-Contingency-Arrangements.pdf
