Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will assist a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15, in obtaining a work permit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13990/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that they have no record of a work permit being applied for in this case.

However, if the above named is resident in the State on the basis of being a spouse of an employment permit holder then he may be eligible to seek employment and apply for a permit under the Spousal/Dependant Permit Scheme. This Scheme was introduced to give greater ease of access to employment for spouses who have been admitted to the State under Family Reunification by:

Not requiring the employer in question to advertise the job with FÁS/EURES in advance of making a work permit application,

Accepting applications for jobs in categories that would otherwise be ineligible for work permits, and

Exempting the application from the work permit fee.

Full details of the Scheme are available on my Department's website at www.entemp.ie.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if there is provision under the work permit system for specialised butchers for religious purposes as distinct from general butchers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14016/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is current Government policy to issue new employment permits for highly skilled highly paid positions or for non-EEA nationals already legally resident in the State on valid employment permits.

Applications in respect of specialized butchers, like all other applications, are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with current policy.