Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will talk to the Minister again about that. I would just say that Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment advised that it only received 12 applications for hospitality manager positions under the newly introduced quota, which I referenced earlier. That might indicate that demand for those type of positions is low.

Processing times are not what they should be, but the Department has an action plan to reduce turnaround times. That plan is yielding results. The processing team has trebled in size and daily output has more than tripled from 2021 levels. That figure relates to the processing of the work permit applications. Internal processes have been streamlined, so progress is being made. For example, in medicine, hundreds of doctors have been removed from the system thanks to changes put in place following engagement with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health.

Waiting time for critical skills employment permits has been more than halved in the past seven weeks. The Department plans to maintain processing times for all critical skill applications at approximately six weeks for all of quarter 2, on the assumption that demand remains at current levels.

I will go back to the Department in respect of chefs, in particular. There are many people who could do with a weekend in Galway, given how the Deputy has described it.

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