Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Burke, who could not be here this morning. I welcome the opportunity to address the issue of employment permit processing and its impact on businesses and prospective employees.

Ireland operates a managed, demand-led employment permits system under the Employment Permits Act 2024. This system supports our labour market by enabling non-EEA nationals to take up employment in sectors where genuine skills or labour shortages exist. It is underpinned by defined eligibility criteria and a statutory review mechanism for refused applications. The Department has made significant progress in recent years to improve the efficiency of the system in response to rising demand. In 2024, we issued a record 39,400 permits from 46,600 applications received. The launch of employment permits online, EPO, in April 2025 marked a major digital transformation, introducing a modern, cloud-based system that streamlines how permits are submitted, processed and tracked. As with any system transition, some short-term pressures have emerged. However, the Department continues to prioritise the timely processing of applications and remains focused on maintaining a high standard of service. Turnaround times remain well below the levels experienced during peak demand periods and compare favourably with international norms. The new system’s enhanced validation features are already helping to reduce refusals on technical grounds, and this in turn is expected to ease pressures on appeals. The Department has also allocated additional resources to ensure that initial applications are processed as efficiently as possible, while continuing to improve appeal timelines.

Appeals processing has seen increased volumes, particularly in the food and hospitality sector. Many of these relate to revised eligibility criteria for chef roles. The Department is actively working to reduce appeal wait times and expects improvements as the system stabilises. l am not aware of any specific delays in the processing of employment permits. However, in an operation of this scale, it is to be expected that applications will be at various stages of processing. Some may take longer due to additional checks or because they are subject to appeal, both of which are standard features of a robust and fair system. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment remains focused on ensuring the employment permits system is agile, fair and responsive to Ireland's evolving labour market.

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