Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the role of healthcare assistants in nursing home settings will be included on the critical skills employment permits list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45082/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s employment permits system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine roles that are either professional occupations in critical short supply or those ineligible for an employment permit. These lists undergo regular, evidence-based review, guided by relevant research, a public/stakeholder consultation and the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group.

Changes I announced in June last year were aimed at addressing the shortages being experienced in nursing home establishments and hospital settings by providing access to the employment permits system. These employers can apply for the General Employment Permit for non-EEA nationals wishing to take up employment as a Nursing Auxiliary or Assistant (Health Care Assistant). The minimum annual remuneration for a Health Care Assistant is €27,000 based on a 39 hour working week (hourly rate €10.85).

From the start of January to date my Department has issued 1,873 employment permits to Health Care Assistants (HCA), of this figure 1,781 were issued to HCAs in a Nursing Home setting. These roles were distributed across 193 Nursing Homes throughout the State.

The General Employment Permit is the primary vehicle used by the State to attract third country nationals into the State for employment in a broad range of occupations. Unlike Critical Skills Employment Permits where eligible occupations require a minimum remuneration of €32,000 for degree qualified employees, General Employment Permits remuneration thresholds are generally €30,000 with some exceptions.

Officials of my Department are actively engaged with the Department of Health in relation to recruitment challenges for the care sector and my Department is a member of the Cross Departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group chaired by the Department of Health to consider the recruitment and retention challenges faced by the care sector.

The Department continues to keep the employment permits system under review in light of changing labour market circumstances and the the timing of the next Review of the Occupational Lists will be kept under consideration.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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32. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps that he is taking to fast-track the processing of critical skills employment permits relating to healthcare professionals for the nursing home sector. [44962/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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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. The system is managed through the use of lists designating highly skilled and ineligible occupations.

On 14 June 2021, following a review of the employment permit occupation lists, changes to the employment permit system were announced, to address skills and labour shortages in the healthcare and nursing home sector. Following this review the occupation of Nursing Auxiliary or Assistant (Health Care Assistant) in hospital/nursing home settings became eligible for an employment permit from that date.

From the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic all employment permit applications for medical personnel have been expedited in order to assist the State to respond to the threat of Covid-19.

My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year and a half, which impacted 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. 16,275 employment permits were issued in 2021, and a total of 17,968 applications processed, which represents a significant volume of activity. This increased demand was also driven by the extension of categories of employment permits following the Review of the Occupational Lists in October 2021.

My Department and I recognised the impact delays in the processing times for employment permits has had for businesses and their workers. Therefore, an internal plan of action was undertaken which has increased resources and implemented more efficient methods of processing applications in the permits system. The processing team has trebled in size and daily output has more than trebled compared to 2021 levels.

Since the implementation of this plan, the Employment Permits Unit has made positive progress by reducing the number of applications awaiting processing from c. 11,000 in January 2022 to approximately 2,500 today, despite further strong growth in demand during 2022.

Processing times for Critical Skills applications from Trusted Partners have fallen from 21 weeks to 3 weeks with Standard applications reduced to 4 weeks. General Employment Permit applications for Trusted Partners fell from 22 weeks to 3 weeks with Standard applications reduced from 22 weeks to 4 weeks.