Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 June 2018
271. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to review employment permit regulations to include the role of healthcare assistants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27396/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra292. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she plans to take to regularise the status of migrant care workers working here that come from outside the EEA and the EU; her plans to change the rules to allow care workers from outside the EU and EEA to work legally here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28011/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 271 and 292 together.
At my request, my Department is currently conducting a review of economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system to ensure that our policies are fully supportive of Ireland’s emerging labour market needs, be they skills or labour shortages in certain sectors. A full report on the review is due by end June. Following on from that Report, it is expected that a review of the Lists of Occupations for employment permits will be conducted in the second half of this year.
Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and wider EEA, an employment permit may be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national. The employment permits system is managed in part through the operation of the highly skilled and ineligible occupation lists for the purpose of grant of employment permits.
Changes to access to the Irish labour market for specific occupations via the employment permits system are made on the basis of research undertaken by the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs and, coordinated by the National Skills Council, the annual National Skills Bulletin and the annual Vacancy Overview Report in tandem with a public consultation process.
Care workers are currently included on the ineligible list of employments. In order to remove a skill from this list, there would need to be a clear demonstration that recruitment difficulties are solely due to shortages and not to other factors such as salary and/or working conditions. Organisations in the relevant sector would need to provide the necessary data to substantiate their claims. A detailed business case for removal of care workers from the ineligible list, based on this detailed data, would then need to be put forward by the Department of Health, as the lead Department for the sector, to my Department.
I am aware that my colleague, Minister of State Daly, with special responsibility for Older People, has had various meetings with the nursing home sector and this matter has been discussed. To date, such detailed evidence has yet to be provided by the sector to his Department. However, I understand Minister Daly is willing to work with the industry on this important issue to ensure continuity of service in the best interests of residents.
