I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 171 together.
The period since March 2020 has been difficult for most businesses, and some sectors have been more severely impacted by public health restrictions and for a more prolonged period. Throughout the pandemic my Department and its enterprise agencies have engaged with and supported businesses within their remit, and in recent months there has been the start of a recovery in employment across the economy. According to the latest Labour Force Survey, published by the Central Statistics Office, on a annual basis employment increased by 221,200 in the year to the third quarter of 2021, with employment standing at 2.71 million.
In seasonally adjusted terms, employment increased by 113,400 in the third quarter of 2021 alone. This came at a time when public health restrictions continued to ease and Ireland’s vaccination programme was being rolled out. This highlights the importance of the Government’s efforts to help workers and businesses throughout the past 18 months, especially those wage supports which helped businesses maintain a link to their staff.
In its ongoing engagement with enterprise, my Department and its enterprise agencies have nevertheless been made aware of labour shortages in certain sectors. My Department has worked to signpost businesses towards the training and labour market activation programmes and supports, available through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, its agencies, and the Department of Social Protection, in order to address their staffing needs.
Some of these staffing shortfalls are due to pre-existing structural shifts in the economy, which have been accelerated by the impact of the pandemic. The twin decarbonisation and digital transitions, and their associated behavioural changes, are significantly altering the economy and will continue to do so in the coming years, leading to permanent changes in our labour market and business models. As we recover from the pandemic not all previous jobs will return- but embracing these transitions will also open up substantial new opportunities for businesses and jobs, as well as potential skills mismatches as these opportunities emerge.
The Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, published earlier this year, commits to supporting the transition of Ireland’s economy and workforce to the new Green and Digital economies. It has an overarching objective of having 2.5 million at work by 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. It aims to realise this goal through ongoing support for people and businesses in making a full return to work. The Plan commits to further strengthening Ireland’s skills framework to ensure skills mismatches are minimised, and people are supported in securing and remaining in sustainable and quality employment, in areas of identified skills needs for business.
As the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is phased out, helping people back to work and reducing the risk of labour market scarring and entrenched long term unemployment is also a priority. This will be achieved through a combination of significant upskilling and reskilling opportunities and increased labour market activation interventions through Pathways to Work 2021-2025. A jobs led recovery will also be supported through creating the right environment for employment creation, through measures to boost the resilience, agility, competitiveness and innovation of enterprises across the economy.
This will also be supported through ensuring a balanced and inclusive recovery, through strategic investment in infrastructure and reforms that enhance our long-term capacity for growth, balanced regional development and by improving living standards. In moving towards the goal of having 2.5 million people in work by 2024, the focus will be on recovering differently, with more productive, innovative, resilient and importantly more secure and valued employment across the economy.
Workers from outside the European Economic Area, whose employment is facilitated by the employment permit system, will play an important role in helping deliver on the objectives set out in the Economic Recovery Plan. Ireland’s economic migration policy accommodates the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill skills and labour gaps in the domestic economy in the short to medium term.
My Department recently announced changes to the permit system in light of identified gaps across the economy, with most construction workers now eligible for a General Employment Permit, the quota removed for HGV driver permits, and further General Employment Permit quotas granted for roles including Hospitality Managers, Horticulture Operatives, Meat Deboners, Meat Processing Operatives and Dairy Farm Assistants.
In light of the important role played by non-EEA nationals in filling identified skills and labour market needs, my Department is very conscious of the need to quickly address the delays being experienced in issuing employment permits and has taken measures to clear the current backlog as quickly as possible. It is confident that they will bear fruit over the coming weeks and months. It advises employers to take current timelines into account as part of their recruitment plans.
A number of factors have impacted processing times in recent months including an increase of over 50% in demand for permits since April this year. In addition, the additional eligible occupations announced on 28 October has prompted an increase in applications for permits.
It is important to point out that when set against other international employment permit regimes, Ireland continues to compare extremely favourably, even at current processing times. However, my Department is very conscious of the recent lengthening of timeframes for processing Employment Permit applications and is committed to reducing these further.
Applications for Employment Permits have seen a significant increase over the course of the year. As of the end of November, some 24,058 applications were received, representing a 62% increase over the same period in 2020 (14,846) and a 40% increase on 2019 (17,101), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications. The Department has issued some 14,254 employment permits since the beginning of the year, which represents a significant volume of activity. Processing times have been impacted by this increase in demand but also as a result of the HSE cyber-attack. As a result of the HSE cyber-attack, employment permit applications associated with the Doctors rotation (which occurs twice yearly in January and July) had to be submitted either manually or through other non-standard methods.
This resulted in a significant additional administrative burden in dealing with these applications requiring staff to be temporarily reassigned to assist in this process. The increased time required in processing these manual applications has had a direct impact on wider processing times for other employment permit applications.
My Department updates the employment permit processing timelines on its website on a weekly basis and regularly issues updates on relevant employment permit matters to Trusted Partners.
