Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

I am very well aware of the skills shortages currently being experienced in some sectors of the economy. The issue is all the more pressing given the strong economic growth being experienced and high demand being placed on a number of sectors to respond to a range of needs across the economy.

Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland's labour market. The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour market.

It is important to consider that while we are moving towards full employment with 5.4% unemployment, we still have 194,700 people in Ireland and 15.9 million in the EU who are unemployed.

The system is, by design, vacancy led and driven by the changing needs of the labour market, expanding and contracting in tandem with its inherent fluctuations. Only where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and wider EEA may an employment permit be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national. In order to ensure that the employment permits schemes are responsive to changes in economic circumstances and labour market conditions, the system is managed through the operation of the critical skills occupations list and the ineligible occupations list for the purpose of granting an employment permit.

These lists are subject to twice-yearly evidence based review which involves consideration of the research and analysis undertaken by the skills and labour market research unit of SOLAS, the expert group on future skills needs, the National Skills Council and input by relevant Departments in addition to a public consultation process. Submissions to the review process are also considered by the economic migration policy interdepartmental group chaired by my Department and with membership drawn from senior officials of key Departments and SOLAS.

The report, Review of Economic Migration Policy, which I published last September, included the recommendation that in order to make changes to the occupation lists, there would need to be a clear demonstration that recruitment difficulties are solely due to shortages across the EEA and not to other factors, such as salary and-or employment conditions.

Recent changes to the occupations lists include removing a number of occupations in construction and road haulage from the ineligible list and moving a number of occupations in construction and high-performance sports to the critical skills occupation list. These changes were made in response to the needs of sectors in addressing real labour shortages.

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