Mr. Joe Ryan:

When we advertise outside of the European Union there are a lot of applicants. As companies do not have bases outside of Europe, we avail of locally based recruitment agencies to assist in the process. Pre-Covid, the companies would have travelled to the countries themselves to take part in the selection process.

The other question Deputy Stanton asked me related to the integration of permit holders when they come into the country. There is a wide range of different activities in that regard. One is assistance where required to source accommodation, arrange flights and travel, get people set up and provide assistance with PPS numbers and bank accounts, introduce them to their co-workers and provide a buddy system, especially if they are of the same nationality, arrange transport, and brief them on the locality. Within the plant environment all the material and standard operating procedures, SOPs, are translated into the relevant languages that are applicable on-site so that staff are fully up to speed as soon as possible on all health and safety requirements, production requirements and customer specifications, etc. There are regular ongoing engagements with the HR representatives, of which there are some on every site, to make sure that people are settling in. There are numerous other company-specific initiatives whereby national holidays are recognised, among other initiatives. There is a wide range of integration activities because ultimately it is in the company's interests that people are happy in their role and in the locality.