Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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255. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of Irish work permits issued by her Department to date in 2016 in tabular form, broken down by the total number of permits issued to each company; if her Department made any inquiries as to whether the positions being requested for such work permits by companies had previously been advertised domestically; her views on the proportion of work permits being sought by some companies with respect to their overall Irish work force size; her view on the skills set shortages in these sectors that these work permits cover; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39231/16]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The State's general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of the State or the EEA. The employment permits system is intended to offer an interim solution where specific skills prove difficult to source within the EEA; it offers a conduit into the Irish labour market for non-EEA nationals with in-demand skills and is operated as a vacancy-led system.

The Highly Skilled Eligible Occupations List (HSEOL) and the Ineligible Categories of Employment List (ICEL) which are used to manage the employment permits system, are reviewed twice a year in order to ensure their ongoing relevance. Changes to access to the Irish labour market for specific occupations via the employment permits system are made on the basis of research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) in tandem with a consultation process, as part of a package of measures to meet those skills needs. Any changes to the lists are made with due regard not only to their potential impacts on the resident labour market but also to upskilling and training that is in place. These bi-annual reviews ensure that the employment permit system is responsive to the skills needs of enterprise in Ireland while ensuring that priority access to available employment is given to the resident Irish and EEA workforce.

The globalised nature of 21st century enterprise means that the flow of personnel and expertise between states and facilities is a core element of business practice, and the regulatory systems of the State must balance the interests of the labour force and economic development in this context.

The inflow of foreign expertise brings a range of positives to the State. Much of the expansion, for example, of the multi-national business sector over the past decade has been predicated on the access of the companies in question to skill sets which have not always been available in the resident labour market at the level or scale that has been required. The State’s economic migration policy has sought to ensure that the skills needs of enterprise are met while safeguarding, the resident labour market. The State deploys a number of safeguards across employment permits and employment rights legislation to protect the labour market from distortion.

The Employment Permits Acts provisions that to protect the resident labour force include a requirement that, for eligible occupations that are not included on the HSEOL, a Labour Market Needs Test must be undertaken, thereby ensuring that the position has been offered to Irish and EEA nationals prior to its offer to a non-EEA national. The employment permits system in Ireland, in addition, features a requirement that companies seeking employment permits for prospective employees should maintain a balance of at least 50:50 EEA employees to non-EEA employees. With limited exceptions, such as a start-up situation, an employment permit will not be granted where more than 50% of the company’s staff are non-EEA nationals. The 50:50 rule helps to prevent large scale outsourcing of employment in Ireland to non-EEA nationals.

8798 employment permits have issued in the year to the end of November. Details of employment permits issued by company is available on my Department’s website at: .