Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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196. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason home care sector workers cannot be recruited from outside the European Economic Area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46000/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The State operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour market.

The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market.

In order to maintain the relevance of these lists of occupations to the needs of the economy and to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo twice-yearly evidence-based reviews which are guided by research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU), SOLAS and involves public/stakeholder consultation. Account is taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and known contextual factors such as Brexit and, in the current context, COVID-19 and their impact on the labour market. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by the Department and of the relevant policy Departments, in this case the Department of Health.

The most recent review did not recommend removal of the occupation of care worker/home carers from the Ineligible Occupations List as the evidence suggests that other factors, such as the contracts of employment on offer and employment terms and conditions being offered are a factor in the recruitment challenges faced by the sector, rather than a demonstrable labour market shortage. The sector has also previously been advised that a more systematic and structured engagement with the Department of Social Protection needs to be demonstrated.

If a sector wishes to propose a change to the occupations lists, they need to submit a detailed evidence-based business case to substantiate their request. A review is currently underway, with submissions received, including submissions from the Home Care sector, under consideration. It is expected that the current review will be finalised in the autumn.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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197. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason for extending eligibility for an employment permit to non-EEA healthcare assistants to work in hospital and nursing home settings but not in home care settings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46048/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The State operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour market.

The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market.

In order to maintain the relevance of these lists of occupations to the needs of the economy and to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo twice-yearly evidence-based reviews which are guided by research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU), SOLAS and involves public/stakeholder consultation. Account is taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and known contextual factors such as Brexit and, in the current context, COVID-19 and their impact on the labour market. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by the Department and of the relevant policy Departments, in this case the Department of Health.

The most recent review did not recommend removal of the occupation of care worker/home carers from the Ineligible Occupations List as the evidence suggests that other factors, such as the contracts of employment on offer and employment terms and conditions being offered are a factor in the recruitment challenges faced by the sector, rather than a demonstrable labour market shortage. The sector has also previously been advised that a more systematic and structured engagement with the Department of Social Protection needs to be demonstrated.

If a sector wishes to propose a change to the occupations lists, they need to submit a detailed evidence-based business case to substantiate their request. A review is currently underway, with submissions received, including submissions from the Home Care sector, under consideration. It is expected that the current review will be finalised in the autumn.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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198. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the changes that are being proposed within the employment permits section of his Department to combat the acute skills shortage at present within the Irish labour market specifically construction, healthcare and hospitality; and the action plan that is being implemented at the pace required to meet the needs of many companies across all these sectors. [46104/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Policy responsibility for the construction, healthcare and hospitality sectors is a matter for my colleagues, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Tourism Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media respectively.

Housing For All, the government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade, includes measures to support availability of the land, workforce, funding and capacity to enable both the public and private sectors to meet the targets.

From the outset of the crisis, in order to assist the HSE and all other medical providers in the State to respond to, and to assist with, the public health response to the threat of Covid-19, all medical employment permits are expedited with immediate effect.

The Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group, under the auspices of Fáilte Ireland, was established in 2019 to coordinate relevant bodies to agree and implement a work programme addressing labour supply and skills requirements in the tourism and hospitality sector.

The employment permits system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages, in circumstances where there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one.

In order to maintain the relevance of these lists of occupations to the needs of the economy and to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo twice-yearly evidence-based reviews which are guided by research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU), SOLAS and involves public/stakeholder consultation. Account is taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and known contextual factors such as Brexit and, in the current context, COVID-19 and their impact on the labour market. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by the Department and of the relevant policy Departments.

A review is currently underway with submissions received, including submissions from the construction, healthcare and hospitality sector, under consideration. It is expected that the review will be finalised in early Autumn.