Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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603. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she has had discussions with the Minister for Finance about the special assignee relief programme, SARP, and specifically about the time limits and the possibility of enabling persons to avail of a work permit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23295/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I, and officials in my Department and Agencies, have ongoing contact with the Minister for Finance and his officials in relation to enterprise tax policy matters.

The Government and I are committed to ensuring that Ireland will continue to provide a competitive offering, including tax offering, to attract FDI and to ensure that our entrepreneurs establish and scale in Ireland. These enterprises provide jobs for our citizens and contribute to funding the provision of public services.

The Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) will be particularly important in the context of Brexit. The individuals that this programme targets are senior individuals who often input into the decision as to where the company will locate new projects. The SARP helps to support IDA Ireland to deliver the challenging targets set out in their strategy.

In response to the challenges of Brexit, Budget 2017 included the extension of the SARP to 2020.

In terms of work permits, the Irish State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of Ireland, the European Union and other EEA states. Policy in relation to applications for employment permits remains focused on facilitating the recruitment from outside the EEA of highly skilled personnel, where the requisite skills cannot be met by normal recruitment or by training.

The employment permits system is ordered through a list structure: the Highly Skilled Eligible Occupations List, which lists occupations in high demand in the Irish labour market and the Ineligible Categories of Employment List, which lists occupations for which there is ample capacity already in the Irish/EEA labour market. An evidence-based review of these lists is conducted by my Department twice a year in order to keep the orientation of economic migration firmly in step with the precise needs of the labour market. My Department has an ongoing public consultations, the most recent just closed on 27th April, to ensure that precise needs of the labour market are reflected.

Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the EEA, an employment permit may be sought in respect of a non-EEA national who possesses those skills. For occupations that are not on the Ineligible List and are not on the Highly Skilled List, an employment permit may be sought subject to a labour market needs test being conducted. All applications are processed in accordance with the Employment Permits Act 2006, as amended and are dependent on a specific job offer.