Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
54. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will add fishers to the critical skills occupations list to enable them to be eligible for employment under the critical skills permit system, reflecting skills and worker shortages in this vital area. [2268/23]
View answerIreland’s employment permits system is designed to accommodate the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill skills and labour gaps for the benefit of our economy, in the short to medium term but this objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that 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 operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either highly skilled and sought after or those of a more general skill level that are ineligible for an employment permit where sufficient availability of those skills should be in the domestic and EEA labour market.
In order to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo regular, evidence-based review guided by relevant research, a public/stakeholder consultation, the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group and relevant policy Departments, in this case the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Critical Skills Employment Permit is available for highly skilled professional occupations included on the Critical Skills Occupations List in sectors such as IT, Finance, and highly skilled medical roles. The criteria attached to this permit type includes a minimum two-year contract of employment and a minimum annual remuneration of €32,000 where the occupation is on the Critical Skills Occupations List and the foreign national has a relevant degree; and €64,000 where the occupation is not on the ineligible list and the foreign national has the necessary experience (no requirement for a degree).
The General Employment Permit (GEP), on the other hand, covers a broader range of occupations than the other classes of employment permit and may be obtained in respect of contracts of employment of less than two-years. The minimum annual remuneration threshold for the GEP is typically €30,000. This permit is also subject to a Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT) demonstrating that the employer was unable to fill the position from the Irish and EEA labour market.
The occupation of Sea Fisher is currently on the Ineligible Occupations List and, as such, is not eligible for an employment permit. The recently published Department of Justice report on the Review of the Atypical Scheme for non-EEA Crew in the Irish Fishing Fleet concluded that the employment of non-EEA crew in the Irish fishing fleet who had been catered for under the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) since 2015 should be provided for under the Employment Permit scheme.
For this key recommendation to be implemented it was noted that employer representative groups should make a submission to remove the occupation of fishers from the Ineligible Occupations List to my Department. The work of the Group to oversee the move of non-EEA fishermen in the Irish fishing fleet to the employment permits system will be initiated after receipt of the evidence-based submission.
