Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Many of us as public representatives, whether Senators or Deputies, confront this problem every day with employers in a similar predicament to what the Senator has raised this morning. Ireland's overarching economic migration policy is to source skills and labour needs from within the workforce of Ireland and the European Economic Area, EEA. Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration, while minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland's labour market. That market is very important to us, as the Senator rightly pointed out, particularly as we approach full employment.

To work in Ireland, a non-EEA national must, unless exempted, hold a valid employment permit. The employment permits section of the Department administers the employment permits system. All applications for employment permits are processed in line with the employment permits Acts and associated regulations.

As the economy improves and we approach full employment, my Department has experienced a high volume of employment permit applications in recent months. This has led to some delays in processing applications. I have seen this at first-hand among employers who are in a similar position. At the end of September 2018, the total number of employment permit applications accepted was 12,530, a 29% increase on the same period in 2017. During this period, 9,284 employment permits were issued in total, a 10% increase on the same period in 2017. The employment permits section is working to reduce the current waiting times of six weeks for applications from trusted partners who are regular users of the service and 16 weeks for standard applications.It is much too long. I even had a case this morning of a permit required for someone for next week. It is unacceptable and we are dealing with it.

My officials are engaging proactively with customers by notifying them of current delays through email, meetings and regular updates on the employment permits section of my Department’s website. To reduce processing times, the employment permits section has introduced several operational changes, streamlined processes and implemented ICT solutions. Additional staffing resources have also been assigned to the section, and a fast-track training programme has been devised. All available resources are being deployed with the aim of reducing processing times. In one way, the number of applications is a sign of the success of our economy.

Overall, the number of applications awaiting processing is starting to reduce as a result of the changes implemented. I expect this to continue. A reduction in processing times is anticipated in the coming weeks as the changes being implemented start to bear fruit. The Department is getting on top of the situation.