Written answers

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Work Permits Eligibility

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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348. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on a request (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37076/18]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, 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 and other EEA states. Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and EEA, an employment permit may be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national.

The employment permits system is managed in part through the operation of the highly skilled and ineligible occupation lists for the purpose of grant of employment permits.  Changes to access to the Irish labour market for specific occupations via the employment permits system are made on the basis of research compiled in the annual National Skills Bulletin and the annual Vacancy Overview Report, undertaken by the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs and coordinated by the National Skills Council.  This data, in tandem with a public consultation process which will involve the submission of evidence based cases for inclusion on, or removal from the HSEOL and ICEL, will form the basis of the bi-annual review process. 

Care workers are currently on the Ineligible Categories of Employment List (ICEL).  In order to have an occupation considered for removal from this list, there would need to be a clear demonstration that recruitment difficulties are solely due to shortages across the EEA and not to other factors such as salary and/or employment conditions.  Organisations in the sector would need to provide the necessary data to substantiate their claims.  A detailed evidence-based case for removal of care workers from the ineligible list, would then need to be put forward by the Department of Health, as the lead Department for the sector, to my Department for review and consideration. 

In recognition of the changed economy and labour market of today as we move clearly and strongly out of the downturn, my Department recently completed a review of the economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system at my request.  The report of the review will be published shortly providing recommendations on a framework for the future operation of the employment permits regime.  Following that publication, the next review of the lists of occupations for employment permits is scheduled to be conducted in the Autumn. 

Employment permit policy is part of the response to addressing skills deficits which exist and are likely to continue into the medium term, but it is not intended over the longer term to act as a substitute for meeting the challenge of up-skilling the State’s resident workforce, with an emphasis on the process of lifelong learning, and on maximising the potential of EEA nationals to fill our skills deficits.

Planning, in relation to the health care workforce, is led by the Department of Health and it has agreed a framework for healthcare manpower planning; the guidance of that Department is key to developments in relation to the supply of health care assistants including the establishment of national standards and a register for home care workers.

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