Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The programme for Government outlines our commitment to addressing skills shortages and supporting economic growth through a strategic migration approach. Ireland’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour from within Ireland and the EEA. To fulfil this policy, Ireland operates and manages an employment permits system designed to fill critical skills and labour shortages in the short to medium term where those skills are not available within Ireland or the EEA. This targeted approach ensures that Irish enterprise has access to the talent it needs to remain productive, competitive and innovative, particularly in the context of near full employment.

The employment permits system is managed on the basis of two occupations lists. The critical skills occupations list prioritises specific in-demand professional roles crucial to the functioning of Irish society such as healthcare and IT. Minimum annual remuneration for roles on the critical skills occupations list start at €38,000 for those with a relevant degree and €64,000 for those with relevant experience. The ineligible occupations list identifies roles for which a labour supply should be available in the Irish or EEA labour market and so are ineligible for consideration for an employment permit. All roles not on either list are eligible for general employment permits which have a minimum annual remuneration of €34,000 for most roles.

The occupations lists are subject to periodic review. This means that in times of economic expansion, eligible occupation categories may be expanded to provide for labour and skills shortages. During a period of economic contraction, eligible occupation categories can be narrowed and other restrictions applied.

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