Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

159. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when there will be a public consultation to review the eligibility of occupations appearing on the critical skills occupations list and the ineligible occupations list for employment permits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6095/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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

The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the use of the occupations lists designating highly skilled and ineligible occupations.

The lists are reviewed twice a year to ensure their ongoing relevance to the State’s human capital requirements, guided by available research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), and the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) in SOLAS. Cognisance is also taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and contextual factors such as Brexit and more recently COVID 19 and their impact on the labour market. The views of the relevant policy Departments are taken into account and as well as those of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group which my Department chairs and on which a number of Departments are represented.

The next review of the Occupational Lists will open up in the coming weeks during Q1 2022 and submissions will be invited through a public consultation

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

160. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if an update will be provided on six work permit applications (details supplied) in view of the fact they are needed to meet deadlines for various projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6193/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department recommends all applications for an employment permit to be submitted at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date of an employment. The Department provides regular updates on its website in relation to processing times and advises employers to take current timelines into account as part of their recruitment plans.

Employment permits are processed in date order and applicants can keep track of current processing dates at

If a permit is urgently required, an applicant may request to have an application expedited. A request to have an application expedited will only be considered in exceptional cases and must be accompanied by a compelling business case which details the individual circumstances involved.

The Employment Permits Section of my Department inform me that six Trusted Partner applications for General Employment Permits were made by the employer in this case. Following the receipt of additional necessary information, which was requested from the applicant, officials in my Department were able to facilitate this request given the exceptional circumstances in this case.