Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he is taking to streamline the issuing of work authorisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18784/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The introduction of the Employment Permits Act 2006 entailed a radical overhaul of the administrative arrangements and work practices of the Employment Permits Section. Employment permits are now issued on the basis of different permit types with dedicated staff trained in decision making on specific types. This system has streamlined the work of the section allowing faster times for issuing and maximising use of resources. During 2008, fully completed applications for all employment permit types were processed within our customer service target of 15 working days.

Due to the prioritisation of business needs of my Department, it was necessary to re-deploy a number of staff in the Employment Permits Section to the Redundancy Payments area in early 2009 where there is a strong need for additional resources to process payments to those who have lost their jobs. This has resulted in currently higher processing times for some of the permit types. In the priority high-skills area of green cards and intra-company transfers, applications are still being processed within 15 working days. In relation to Work Permits and Spousal applications, measures have been put in place to address the current waiting-time. I can report that significant progress has been made in reducing the backlog in these areas and we will continue to seek further improvements.

The Employment Permits Section is also currently developing a back office IT system to reduce the administrative burden on all applicants for Employment Permits and to further streamline the process. This system is forecast to go live in September 2010. As a result, a number of documents currently required with each application (as set down in the Employment Permits Act 2006) will be directly verified with the appropriate authority avoiding the need for paper submission.

In addition, the former Minister, An Tánaiste Mary Coughlan TD, in conjunction with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, announced on the 28th August 2009 that it will not be necessary for those who have been working lawfully and who have held an employment permit for 5 consecutive years to have an employment permit to remain in employment. On presentation of the relevant documentation to the Immigration Authorities they will now be facilitated with the appropriate endorsement. This has streamlined the process for all concerned.