Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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24. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he recently reviewed the critical skills list; his plans to expand the list to address skills shortages in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53671/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market.

The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market. In order to maintain the relevance of these lists of occupations to the needs of the economy and to ensure the employment permits system is aligned with current labour market intelligence, these lists undergo evidence-based reviews which are guided by research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the Skills and the Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU), SOLAS and by a public consultation.

Account is taken of education outputs, sectoral upskilling and training initiatives and known contextual and their impact on the labour market. Consideration is also taken of the views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by my Department and of the relevant policy Departments.

The most recent full review concluded on 27th October 2021.

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