Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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761. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department is liaising with the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the matter of critical skills permits for dairy farm workers; if his Department will be recommending additional critical skills permits for dairy farm workers under the current review due to the shortage of such workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48043/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My officials have regular engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, who have primary responsibility for economic migration policy and employment permits. Their position is that employment permits are a last resort for addressing shortages of labour. While the pilot employment permit scheme introduced in 2018 for some sections of the agri-food sector, including dairy farm operatives, was an important tool for filling labour shortages, there is a high threshold of evidence required to remove any occupation from the ineligible list for employment permits. However my officials will continue to liaise with agriculture stakeholders in this regard.

In the first instance, employers are advised to engage with the services of the Department of Social Protection, namely Intreo and EURES, as there remain large numbers of unemployed both in Ireland and across Europe. In addition, the People in Dairy Action Plan (www.teagasc.ie/publications/2018/people-in-dairy-action-plan.php) contained six key action areas designed to address attraction and retention of labour and skills on dairy farms and Teagasc continues to play a key role in its implementation.