Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
48. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 94 of 13 October 2021, the status of the current review of the critical skills and ineligible occupations lists; when the final report of the review will be completed and published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52892/21]
View answerThe employment permits system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages, in circumstances where there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one.
The system is managed through the use of lists designating highly skilled and ineligible occupations. The lists are reviewed twice a year to ensure their ongoing relevance to the State’s human capital requirements. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by my Department and of the relevant policy Departments including the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
The outcome of the most recent Review was announced on 28 October. A press release is available on my Department’s website. The key features of the announcement were
- Most construction sector jobs now eligible for a General Employment Permit
- Quota to be removed for HGV driver work permits
- 350 General Employment Permits for hospitality managers
- Social Workers to be eligible for Critical Skills Employment Permit
- Dispensing Opticians to be eligible for General Employment Permit
- New General Employment Permit quotas for 1,000 Horticulture Operatives, 500 Meat Deboners, 1500 Meat Processing operatives and 100 Dairy Farm Assistants; with a strategic review of labour attraction and retention in the sector to follow
- New General Employment Permit quota of 100 for Work Riders
PQ 94, referenced by the Deputy, related to the hospitality sector. I have decided to open a quota of 350 permits to address an immediate need at management level. The quota will be subject to a framework requiring a recognised third level qualification and five years’ experience in a management role. At the same time, I am aware that the industry has not fully re-opened and that the impact on the sector is still difficult to establish. Along with officials in my Department, I will continue to review the situation to make any adjustments necessary.
