Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages in the State, in order to develop and support enterprise for the benefit of our economy. The employment permits system is managed through the operation of the critical skills and ineligible occupations lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for consideration for an employment permit.
The roles of occupational therapist and speech and language therapist were added to the Critical Skills List in 2022.
The table below shows the total number of critical skills employment permits granted between the years 2022 and 2024 and to date in 2025.
|
Issued
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
2025
|
|
Soc Code
|
Soc Title
|
Critical Skills Employment Permit
|
Critical Skills Employment Permit
|
Critical Skills Employment Permit
|
Critical Skills Employment Permit
|
Grand Total
|
2222
|
Occupational therapists
|
8
|
21
|
31
|
2
|
62
|
2223
|
Speech and language therapists
|
2
|
6
|
13
|
|
21
|