Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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167. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if an urgent review of the work permit system will be instigated by his Department with a view to including hospitality staff, including chefs in the critical skills criteria who would then be eligible to apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24779/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the operation of the occupation lists: the critical skills list in respect of skills that are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland’s economy and the ineligible list for which a ready source of labour is available from within Ireland and the EEA.

Changes to the employment permit occupations lists are made where there are no suitable Irish/EEA nationals available, development opportunities are not undermined, a genuine skills shortage exists rather than a recruitment or retention problem and Government education, training and economic development policies are supported.

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 Department works with other Government Departments via the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group to promote an integrated approach to address labour and skills shortages in the longer term. Where shortages are clearly evidenced, the employment permit system is flexible enough to address them in real time.

As part of this review process, the Department also invites submissions from industry representatives and stakeholders. The submission process is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide evidence, additional information and potentially different perspectives on the nature and extent of skill shortages. Stakeholder submissions are a vital source of information, helping inform the Department’s final assessment of the status of occupations.

In response to requests from the hospitality sector over the last number of years my Department introduced a number of changes to widen access to the General Employment Permit for occupations in the sector. All grades of Chef have been eligible for the General Employment Permit since 2019, with restrictions such as a quota or limit per establishment also removed. Experienced Executive Chefs, Head Chefs, Sous Chefs, Chefs de Partie and Commis Chefs can apply for a General Employment Permit to work in a restaurant establishment, at a remuneration level of at least €30,000.

The most recent review of the Occupations Lists concluded towards the end of last year, and in response to further requests from the hospitality sector a quota of 350 General Employment Permits was established for managerial roles; namely Catering Managers, Bar Managers, Hotel Managers and Accommodation Managers. The quota is subject to a framework requiring a recognised third level qualification and five years’ experience in the role.

The General Employment Permit is the primary vehicle used by the State to attract third country nationals in occupations with remuneration thresholds of generally €30,000. The General Employment Permit is also subject to a Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT), demonstrating that the employer was unable to fill the position from the Irish and EEA labour market. For occupations included on the Critical Skills occupations list it is a requirement for the foreign national to hold a relevant degree where the annual remuneration is €32,000 or €64,000 without a degree.

The next review of the occupations lists is expected to commence with a public consultation in Q2 2022. When open, submissions will be invited from sector representative bodies and interested parties via the Public Consultation Form which will be accessible on the Department’s website.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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168. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the critical staff shortages in the hospitality sector in both skilled and unskilled levels; the steps that have been taken to address these skills shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24780/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the operation of the occupation lists: the critical skills list in respect of skills that are in critical shortage in the labour market and the ineligible occupations lists for which a ready source of labour is available from within Ireland and the EEA.

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 COVID-19 and their impact on the labour market. The views of the relevant policy Departments are taken into account as well as those of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group which my Department chairs and on which a number of Departments, including the Department of Health are represented.

Access to employment permits was widened for all grades of Chef in 2019, with restrictions as to quota or limit per establishment also removed; experienced Executive Chefs, Head Chefs, Sous Chefs, Chef de Partie and Commis Chefs can apply for a General Employment Permit to work in a restaurant establishment, at a remuneration level of at least €30,000.

The next review of the occupations lists is expected to commence with a public consultation in Q2 2022. When open, submissions will be invited from sector representative bodies and interested parties via the Public Consultation Form which will be accessible on the Department’s website.

My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. From the start of January to the end of December 2021, some 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications.

My Department issued 16,275 employment permits in 2021, and processed a total of 17,968 applications which represents a significant volume of activity. In addition, the extension of categories of employment permits following the latest Review of the Occupational Lists has increased the availability of employment permits.

My Department recognises the impact delays in the processing times for work permits has for businesses and their workers and significant resources have been allocated to processing times. An internal plan of action has been implemented which has increased resources and introduced more efficient methods of processing applications in the permits system. The processing team has trebled in size and daily output has more than tripled compared to 2021 levels.