Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 132: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will respond to correspondence (details supplied) regarding work permits for non-EU workers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20525/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The recent review of our employment permit arrangements was undertaken in order to ensure that they continue to be appropriate to the needs of a changing labour market, and were announced following the outcome of a consultation process with the Social Partners.

In recognition of the fact that skills and labour shortages no longer exist in various sectors of employment, a number of occupations have been added to the list of those ineligible for work permits, and a significant number of job categories have been removed from the Green Card eligible list where the salary payable for the job is in the range €30,000-€59,999 per annum.

It has been, and continues to be, Government policy to require that employers make a meaningful effort to give preference to Irish and EEA nationals in filling job vacancies. To underscore the application of this Community Preference principle, it was decided to strengthen the labour market needs test for new entrants from 1st June in order to ensure that only those vacancies that cannot genuinely be filled by nationals of EEA countries are considered for work permit applications.

Government recognises the fact that those permit holders who have been living in Ireland for several years have made a real contribution to the economy, and that they too are potentially impacted by adverse labour market conditions. Therefore, the revised employment permit rules provide that, in the event of the redundancy of work permit holders, they will have up to three months from the date of the redundancy to seek alternative employment, and that where they have been made redundant from a post which is now considered ineligible for a work permit, they may continue to seek work in an ineligible category in order to ensure the best possible chance of regaining employment. In the case of Green Card holders who have been made redundant, new Green Cards will be issued in accordance with the Green Card scheme salary requirement and for jobs where there is strategic skills shortage.

New arrangements regarding work permit renewals will only apply to non-EEA nationals whose permit application was approved on or after 1 June 2009. Persons who were granted a permit prior to this date will retain the original renewal conditions.

My Department will continue to keep employment permit arrangements under review to ensure they remain suitable and relevant to current labour market conditions.