Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if consideration has been given to providing greater flexibility for persons on work permits who are made redundant as a result of Covid-19 particularly in sectors that have been hard hit by the pandemic such as aviation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63011/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Under the Employment Permit Acts in order to work in the State all non-EEA nationals require a valid Employment Permit or relevant immigration permission from the Minister for Justice which allows them to reside and work in the State without the requirement for an Employment Permit. The Irish State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of the European Union and other EEA states. However, where specific skills prove difficult to source within the EEA, an employment permit may be sought in respect of a non-EEA national who possess those skills.

All Employment Permit applications are processed in line with the Employment Permits Act 2006, as amended and are dependent on a job offer from an Irish registered Employer for an eligible occupation. It should be noted that the State's employment permit system is ordered by the use of occupation lists which determine which employments are highly demanded and which are ineligible for consideration for employment permits at a point in time and these lists are reviewed on a twice-yearly basis.

In March 2020, my Department implemented a contingency plan to ensure that the employment permit regime could continue to operate throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The Department is committed to flexibly dealing with employment permit issues that arise for both employers and employees as a result of the pandemic. The feedback received from enterprise across the board has been universally positive.

In fact, Ireland was one of the few countries that has managed to keep their employment permit system fully operational throughout the pandemic. Full details in relation to the contingency arrangements introduced by the Employment Permits Section in response to the pandemic can be accessed on my Department's website through the following link:enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/COVID-19-Employment-Permits-System-Contingency-Arrangements.html.

Where an employment permit holder has been made redundant they must notify the Employment Permits Section of my Department when the employment ceases on the prescribed Redundancy Notification form within 4 weeks of the redundancy. An employment permit holder then has up to six months from the date on which their employment ceases to find further employment. 

If the permit holder secures another job within the six month period of the redundancy they will be exempted from certain rules that otherwise would apply i.e. the requirement to complete a Labour Market Needs Test and the eligibility criteria in relation to the job. In addition, if an employment permit holder was made redundant from an occupation that subsequently was deemed ineligible for a permit, but had been offered the same role by a different employer, then an employment permit application will be considered.

Information regarding employment permit holders who are made redundant from their employment is available on my Department’s website and can be accessed through this link: enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Redundancy/.