Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A person who comes to work in Ireland becomes part of a community and pays tax here. We should not pretend that it is unacceptable for a company relocating to Ireland to bring with it employees from its head office as part of that relocation. While such companies may start with a core, they quickly become Irish-led. One of the reasons they come is the talent available here. That is key.

We do have data for work permits. The number of work permits issued has fallen dramatically, from 23,000 at its peak to 3,000 last year. Huge numbers of employees from non-EU countries are not coming here and those who are brought in have particular skill sets. Almost 1,700 of the 3,000 jobs for which work permits were granted last year were in the IT sector. It is possible for us to identify the positions companies are filling by way of internal transfers or recruitment from outside the European Union in order to meet their needs. These are the skills on which we need to focus. Our target is to become more self-reliant in these areas.

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