Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for his question. My Department has made significant progress in recent years in improving the employment permits processing system to ensure the service is responsive to business needs and prevailing economic conditions. Following a significant increase in demand in 2021 and 2022, the Department implemented an action plan, which increased resources to introduce effective methods of processing permit applications. The number of applications awaiting processing has been reduced from approximately 11,000 in January 2022, with processing timelines of up to 22 weeks, to just over 4,000 at the start of this year. As of 18 April, I am pleased to report that this number is under 2,000 and processing times for all permits have been reduced to within one to two weeks.

Improvements have also been made in respect of the refund process. Fees are refunded for a variety of reasons, for example, where an application has been submitted for a role that is ineligible for a permit, where the quota for the role has been reached, or where an applicant is refused.

Due to the overall backlog and high volume of demand in recent years, users were also experiencing delays in the refund process. However, following process improvements, the majority of refunds are now issued directly to the credit or debit card used to pay for the application within five working days.

My Department remains committed to offering an efficient employment permit service. This week, the employment permits unit launched a new permit processing system, employment permits online. This new cloud-based system replaces older technologies and will transform the way employment permits are applied for, processed and issued. By introducing a portal space with individual online accounts for both employers and employees, it will be easier for users to get up-to-date information on their applications. It will also provide users with more ownership of their accounts. The new employment permit system will make the application process easier, more secure, more intuitive and in so doing will reduce inaccuracies in the submission of applications, resulting in a more streamlined processing experience.

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