Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
134. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will put in place measures to solve the current staffing crisis in the hospitality industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43827/21]
View answerPolicy responsibility for the Hospitality Sector is matter for my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. The Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group, under the auspices of Fáilte Ireland, was established in 2019 to coordinate relevant bodies to agree and implement a work programme addressing labour supply and skills requirements in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The State operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and 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 managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market.
In order to maintain the relevance of these lists of occupations to the needs of the economy and to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo twice-yearly evidence-based reviews which are guided by research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU), SOLAS and involves public/stakeholder consultation. Account is taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and known contextual factors such as Brexit and, in the current context, COVID-19 and their impact on the labour market. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by the Department and of the relevant policy Departments.
A review is currently underway with submissions received, including submissions from the Hospitality sector, under consideration. It is expected that the review will be finalised by the end of September/early October.
