Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration and minimises disruption to Ireland’s labour market. The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the European Economic Area, EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time.

There has been a significant increase in demand for employment permits in recent years. Some 38,469 employment permit applications were received in 2023. That was an increase of 8% on the previous year. The employment permits section of my Department informs me that for the period from January 2024 to date in May, a total of 19,324 employment permits have been applied for and a total of 15,124 employment permits have been granted.

My Department has allocated additional resources to manage increased demand and ensure processing times remain stable. My officials have also undertaken a range of activities to improve efficiency of the permits system. Processing times for new permits are currently at 11 business days for trusted partner firms, and 21 days for others. These employment permits processing times are updated weekly and are publicly available on my Department's website.

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