Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employment work permits that have been applied for to date in 2024; the number of permits that have been granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23462/24]

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I am asking about the number of employment permits that have been applied for to date in 2024 and the number that have been granted.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration and minimises disruption to Ireland’s labour market. The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the European Economic Area, EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time.

There has been a significant increase in demand for employment permits in recent years. Some 38,469 employment permit applications were received in 2023. That was an increase of 8% on the previous year. The employment permits section of my Department informs me that for the period from January 2024 to date in May, a total of 19,324 employment permits have been applied for and a total of 15,124 employment permits have been granted.

My Department has allocated additional resources to manage increased demand and ensure processing times remain stable. My officials have also undertaken a range of activities to improve efficiency of the permits system. Processing times for new permits are currently at 11 business days for trusted partner firms, and 21 days for others. These employment permits processing times are updated weekly and are publicly available on my Department's website.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I know the Minister of State recently had a meeting with the Irish Road Haulage Association on the new pay scales that were introduced last year for the work permits and the general work permit. As an island nation, we must understand that there are certain sectors that require a different train of thought to keep us competitive, if nothing else. We have a HGV sector that primarily deals with taking goods from Ireland to continental Europe. For that, there is a subsistence arrangement in place for drivers. We are now at a base level, with a huge increase on what it previously was, but those roles are more of a critical skills nature than general work permits. If we cannot get our produce out of the country, we cannot trade. If we cannot do so competitively, nobody will trade with us because we will be too expensive. That is something the Minister of State has to consider along with her colleagues in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is not just a work permit issue; it is about keeping us competitive.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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In the past year, following a review, my Department has implemented changes to the critical skills occupation list, ineligible list of occupants and current salary thresholds for both the general employment permits and the critical skills employment permits. The employment permit section of my Department is also undertaking a range of activities to improve efficiency. That includes the introduction of pre-screening for the general employment permit applications across a small number of key mandatory criteria to ensure compliance with the requirements. The introduction of video guides for applicants and a new system to refund fees electronically are among the measures introduced. The Department will soon introduce a new online employment permit system with the aim of delivering further efficiencies and an improved customer experience. This will benefit hauliers and the people about whom the Deputy is speaking today.

I did meet with the Irish Road Haulage Association last week or the week before. We had a very constructive engagement. I have asked it to follow up in detail in writing to me.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I probably should have said at the outset that I wish the Minister of State well in her position. I understand those answers were prepared for her but what I really need an answer on is the competitive nature by which the work permit is structured. It is not competitive. It is anything but that. It is anti-competitive. We need to address this in the context of the particular sector we are discussing. We are probably the only island nation that is affected in this way. We are not connected to mainland Europe other than through a very expensive shipping route. This is as much about Ireland Inc. as it is about its workforce. Nobody is taking advantage and nobody wants to pay less but the unfortunate reality is that because we are that step away from mainland Europe we have significant issues to consider in the competitive sphere. I know that both of the Minister of State’s colleagues will have addressed this before but really serious consideration needs to be given to that meeting and what was brought to her at it. From our perspective, it is more difficult to recruit work permit drivers simply because of the countries we were given, including South Africa, Japan and Korea. None of them are advantageous. Another thing that needs to be addressed is that if people who come here on a work permit should not be able to swap and change companies. The time they are here should be spent with the company that they are recruited for. There must be some structure to prevent that practice.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right. Competitiveness is a key issue here. It is important from a business perspective and, in the context of the labour market, it is important that we are paying competitive rates to employees. The Deputy will be aware that one of the things we are piloting is a new seasonal employment permit. That pilot programme was announced and will be happening and we will look at following it through for different sectors. I am aware of issues with the countries which the Deputy named, as well as with Georgia. I think there will be movement on that shortly. I had a very constructive engagement with the Irish Road Haulage Association. It has a particular viewpoint. I have asked it to provide information, case studies and data to back it up. Once I have that information, I can then make an informed decision on what it is putting forward.