Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
799. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Justice to provide information and statistics on the average processing time for granting work licences to nurses from countries outside the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47482/23]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that in order to work in Ireland, a non-EEA national, unless they are exempted, must hold a valid employment permit, which is administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). My Department has no role in the administration or processing of Employment Permits. When a visa required national receives an Employment Permit from the DETE they must then apply to my Department for a long stay Employment Visa. All long stay visas are also called 'D' visas. Further details on long stay Employment Visas may be found at the following link:www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/ The granting of an employment permit by DETE is not the sole determining factor as to whether a visa will subsequently be granted by my Department. These are two very distinct application processes with different checks and procedures in place in each respective Department. Ireland’s Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) is designed to accommodate the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill short term labour market gaps. In recognition of the importance of frontline medical personnel, the AWS Unit prioritises these applications. There has been an unprecedented demand for AWS permissions this year, with a significant increase in the number of applications for healthcare workers. The number of applications received in the first six months of this year is 5,376. This represents an increase of 65% of applications that were received in the same period of last year.
Additional resources have been added to manage the Scheme earlier this year. I am pleased to say that for medical personnel the processing times for applications have reduced in recent weeks and are now approximately in line with the business target of 20 working days. My Department is continuing to work to reduce processing times through the modernisation of our systems and the introduction of efficiencies, as well as additional streamlining measures which should also reduce processing times for AWS applications. The AWS unit continues to liaise with all relevant stakeholders in this area and further information on the Atypical Working Scheme, including the criteria for documents, is available here:www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/what-are-my-work-visa-options/applying-for-a-long-stay-employment-visa/atypical-working-scheme/
I can further advise the Deputy that work is underway to unify the current system whereby employment permits and immigration permissions are dealt with separately, with a view to improving the user experience and enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness in attracting skilled migrant workers. The Government agreed in principle late last year that a single application procedure for employment permits and immigration permissions should be developed and that an Inter Departmental Working Group should be established to develop an implementation plan for consideration by Government.
The Inter-departmental Working Group is examining the operational, policy and legal considerations of simplifying the process for employment permits and immigration permissions to improve on timelines to secure critical skill workers. The Working Group aims to report back to Government shortly with an implementation plan and associated timelines. The Working Group’s report will also allow Government to consider opting-in to the recast EU Single Permit Directive at a future date.
