The current position is that all individuals outside the European Economic Area, EEA, require work permits to work in Ireland assuming they cannot avail of the work authorisation or working visa scheme, regardless of whether or not their spouse has a work permit. The issue of a work permit to an individual does not confer any entitlement to that person's spouse.
The rationale of the work permit system, as in other countries, is to allow employers to fill positions, on a temporary basis, with a non-EEA national where the employer has been unable to fill these positions either by an Irish or other EEA national. The scheme is employer driven on the basis of labour and skills needs.
Employers are required to make all reasonable efforts to recruit from within the EEA and evidence of such efforts must be provided with the application for a work permit.