Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. I heard the issues the Deputy raised and I hear them in my office. There are many delays in certain types of work permits, in particular in the transport sector. There are many transport companies in the west of Ireland, in particular Galway. I have met many and one of their major issues is trying to source drivers. In terms of bringing in drivers from abroad, the work permit system is taking a lot longer than it should. I will bring back the Deputy's comments to the Minister and Department. I will not read out my closing statement because it is the same as what I said at the beginning. I will ask the Minister whether something can be done to speed of these applications. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue.

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