Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is correct that the permit system is a short-term solution but we do need that sticking plaster at the moment. A constituent was on to me this morning whose holidays have been cancelled because the hotel in question has closed. We are encouraging people to holiday at home but they are getting their deposits back for holidays. At the moment the effective waiting time for processing a work permit is seven months. That is completely unacceptable when there is such a crisis in staffing. The Minister of State needs to look again at the definition of the critical skills and ineligible occupations to deal with a short-term issue that is causing a crisis right across our economy.

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