Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

We recognise the pressures faced by many in the licensed haulage sector. I assure the Deputy that the Government is responding to those concerns. We have made significant progress with the new online employment permit system. It is delivering an effective and responsive system to provide the maximum benefits of our economic migration system. Over the past three years, we have increased staff resources, streamlined internal processing and introduced the new online digital system. It is very user-friendly. General employment permits are being turned around in 19 business days, while critical skills permits are being turned around in just 12. That is significant progress. Since the new system was launched, more than 3,700 applications have been received and more than 3,100 permits have been issued. The system is operating at pre-launch levels. There is high user success.

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