Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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315. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the review of the work permits regime; and the criteria that apply. [7496/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the focus of the employment permits regime in recent years has been to ensure that the skills requirements of enterprise in the State can be met through economic migration where necessary. However, as the State approaches full employment, labour as well as skills needs are beginning to manifest and my Department is being pressed to open up the employment permit regime to lower skilled workers in certain sectors and occupations.

However, economic migration alone is not a sustainable long-term solution to skills and labour shortages and indeed can, in some circumstances, help to perpetuate those shortages in the economy.  The development of particular skills in the resident labour force can depend upon a judicious deployment of economic migration as a supplementary rather than a primary source of those skills, and adjustments must be made with this in mind.

While there is some anecdotal evidence of a tightening labour market in some sectors, the fact remains that there are 238,000 on the live register, and with a potential pool of 18.5 million unemployed in the EU 28. Thus my Department needs to be prudent in considering whether to open up the labour market to unskilled non-EEA workers on wage levels at or just above the national minimum wage.

In this context, I have decided that my Department undertake a review of the economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system, to ensure it is fully supportive of Ireland’s emerging labour market needs, be they skills or labour shortages in certain sectors.

The principle objective of this review process is to consider the policy rationale for the employment permit system where the economy is improving and the labour market is tightening. An Inter-Departmental Group has been established to inform the review and it is made up of relevant State Departments, including Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform; Justice and Equality; Housing Planning and Local Government; Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Transport, Tourism and Sport; Education and Skills; Employment Affairs and Social Protection.  The IDG met for the first time on 9 February last. 

The review process will also include a public consultation, with feedback sought from relevant stakeholders and interest groups.

I have requested that a report be submitted to me before the end of June.