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Departmental Correspondence

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2021

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Questions (177)

Matt Carthy

Question:

177. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 865 of 28 September 2021, if he has conveyed to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment that there are shortages of labour in specific agricultural sectors; the sectors in this regard; if his Department did so in the context of a particular review; if his Department proposed a particular solution to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48712/21]

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Written answers

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is in regular contact with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on these issues, including highlighting the shortages that exist in certain sub-sectors of agri-food. That Department has lead responsibility for employment permit policy and the most recent review of the lists for employment permits is expected to conclude shortly. This is one method for helping to fill labour shortages, although it is considered to be a last resort. In advance of this, the Department of Social Protection are involved in helping employers recruit from the domestic and European labour pools, supplemented through initiatives such as ‘Help2Harvest’. These sectors also need to have appropriate labour attraction and retention policies in place.

The new Food Vision 2030 strategy includes a goal to “Attract and Nurture Diverse and Inclusive Talent” and this recommends five actions for the sector: employers in the agri-food industry will develop an education, skills and talent attraction and retention strategy; they will ensure decent work and address labour shortages; education and training programmes, including new apprenticeships, will be kept under review to ensure they respond to needs such as in the areas of environmental sustainability; they will promote and improve gender balance at all levels, but particularly at senior management and board level; and they will promote and develop initiatives to improve diversity and inclusion.

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