Work Permits

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 May 2023

Thursday, 11 May 2023

Questions (80)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

80. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 96 of 23 February 2023, the number of employment permits issued in respect of non-EEA home care workers since the changes in December 2022 to the employment permits system for workers from outside the EEA to address skills shortages in the home care sector; the number of applications received; the number of applications refused; the number of applications pending; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22148/23]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Neale Richmond)

The first table below sets out the number of employment permits applications that have been issued and refused to date in 2023 in respect of non-EEA home care workers since the changes announced in December 2022.

The second table below provides the approximate number of applications currently awaiting processing in this category. As these applications have yet to be processed and assigned an appropriate SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code it is not possible to provide the exact number of applications received.

All applications for the role of home care workers must demonstrate that a Labour Market Means Test has been carried out. This 28 days to complete.

		Issued	Refused
Year of issue	Month of Issue	Care workers and home carers	Care workers and home carers
2023	January		3
	February	14	1
	March	34	6
	April	11
	May up to 05/05/2023	2
Total		61	10

Job Title	Applications Received (Awaiting Processing)
Carer in a Private Home	1
Carer in the Home	1
Home care worker	4
Home Carer	3
Homecare Assistant	1
Grand Total	10

Question No. 81 answered orally.