Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1976. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his engagement with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment concerning reform of the recruitment process of non-EU/EEA nationals and the fast tracking of the processing of critical skills employment permits relating to healthcare professionals for the nursing home sector. [43907/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has responsibility for the employment permits legislation and the granting of permits which facilitates the arrival of highly skilled non-EEA nationals wishing to take up employment in Ireland in an eligible occupation, to meet skills demand in the economy where those skills can’t be accessed through the resident labour force, in the short to medium term. This objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one.
In order to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo regular, evidence-based review guided by relevant research, a public/stakeholder consultation, the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group and relevant policy Departments, including the Department of Health. Account is also taken of upskilling and training initiatives and other known contextual factors, such as the ending of the pandemic unemployment payment schemes and the Ukrainian humanitarian Crisis, and their impact on the labour market.
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD announced changes in June last year to provide access to the General Employment Permit for non-EEA nationals wishing to take up employment in the State as a Nursing Auxiliary or Assistant (Health Care Assistant) in hospital/nursing home settings. The changes also included removing a number of healthcare occupations from the Ineligible Occupations List. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment continues to keep the employment permits system under review in light of changing labour market circumstances.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. From the start of January to the end of December 2021, 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications.
The current processing time for Critical Skills Employment Permits is 4 weeks and General Employment Permits take 4 to 5 weeks. The Employment Permits Unit is aware of how employment permits processing times may have impacted businesses and their workers, and a range of measures were implemented to address processing times, which has seen the number of applications awaiting processing reduce from c. 11,000 in January 2022 to 2,715, less than a quarter of the peak in the first week of January.
