Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2023
161. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the difficulties being experienced by non-EEA health care assistants in getting permission to have close family members join them in Ireland, and the impact this is having on the recruitment and retention of health care assistants; if he has raised this matter with Government colleagues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31514/23]
View answerAccess to the General Employment Permit for non-EEA nationals wishing to take up employment in the role of health care assistant was announced in June 2021 to address skills and labour shortages in the healthcare and nursing home sector. The framework agreed following constructive engagement between my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, provided a salary of at least €27,000 for the role and the requirement for the permit holder to attain a relevant qualification at least QQI Level 5 after 2 years employment in the State.
Remuneration for employment permit purposes is a labour market policy instrument in which setting minimum remuneration thresholds is a delicate balancing act. Economic migration seeks to serve the skills needs of the economy without impacting the wider labour market. Therefore, being cognisant that there are a range of remuneration levels in the sector (€24,000 - €32,000) and recognising the need to be able to recruit staff while ensuring that there is no disruption to the domestic labour market, a minimum annual remuneration threshold of €27,000 has been set for this occupation.
The conditions governing the eligibility requirements for family reunification and the granting of Stamp 1G visas for spouses and/or dependents of employment permit holders are a matter for the Minister for Justice. The Department of Justice policy requires that the sponsor demonstrate their capacity to provide for their family member(s) if they are to be granted a permission to come to Ireland. The policy sets out the rationale for applying resource requirements as part of the overall assessment of whether to approve an application for family reunification and the conditions attaching to permissions issued to family members. The Policy, which was last amended in 2016, is currently under review.
Department of Health officials engage regularly with relevant government departments and other stakeholders to address any issues which may be impacting the recruitment and retention of health care workers. The cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group was established in March 2022 by Minister Butler to examine strategic workforce challenges in publicly and privately provided frontline carer roles in home support and long-term residential care for older people. The Group’s report provides a comprehensive overview of the complex and inter-related challenges that are affecting the recruitment and retention of care workers. It makes 16 wide-ranging recommendations to urgently address these, spanning the areas of recruitment, pay and conditions, barriers to employment, and training and professional development, as well as sectoral reform. The implementation of the Advisory Group’s recommendations has commenced and is closely monitored by the Implementation Group that has been established by the Department of Health.
