Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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163. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the case of a person (details supplied) who has been refused a work permit to continue working as an SNA will be examined; if any exceptional circumstances or discretion can be applied by his Department to allow this person to continue working in the school given the crisis in attracting and retaining staff in this sector and the difficulties faced by the school in replacing this person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59910/22]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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166. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has any flexibility in relation to the issuing of temporary work permits for jobs not deemed critical skills jobs in cases in which an applicant (details supplied) has commenced work in a position and where their removal from that position will result in extreme hardship to vulnerable people reliant on their continued employment in that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59913/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 166 together.

The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that on 24^thOctober 2022 the application concerned (in the details supplied) was refused and on 21^stNovember 2022 a request for a review of the refusal reasons in this case was also refused.

The reasons for the refusal of the application (and the review) were that an advertisement for the employment was not placed with the Department of Social Protection/EURES for 28 days during the 90 days preceding the application and not placed in a national newspaper and in a local newspaper or on a website for three days. The requirements in relation to the Labour Market Needs Test are set out in employment permit regulations and as such must be fully adhered to as the current legislation provides no discretion where there is a failure to carry it out correctly.

The refusal to grant an employment permit does not preclude the applicant from submitting another application for an employment permit. Such an application must comply with all of the legislative requirements for the particular employment permit type. Therefore, in order to obtain an employment permit for the non-EEA national concerned the employer is required to submit new General Employment Permit application after carrying out a valid Labour Market Needs Test for the employment.

Information in relation to the Labour Market Needs Test is available on the Department’s website and can be accessed through this link enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Employment-Permit-Eligibility/Labour-Market-Needs-Test/.

A Checklist Document has been prepared to assist applicants when applying for a General Employment Permit application and this can be accessed on the Department’s website at enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/General-Employment-Permits-Checklist.pdf.

There is no provision under the Employment Permits legalisation for the provision of temporary employment permits for occupations that do not qualify for a Critical Skills employment permit.

Applications for employment permits are dealt with in date order. Applicants can keep track of Employment Permit applications current processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Current-Application-Processing-Dates/.

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.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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165. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he intends to revise current regulation and legislation regarding work permits and categories of critical skills in relation to teaching staff in primary and post primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59912/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The State's employment permit system is vacancy-led and managed through the operation of the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List which, respectively, prioritise specified in-demand, highly skilled professional roles and identify occupations for which a labour supply should be available in the EEA and so are ineligible for consideration for an employment permit.

The role of Teacher in either secondary or primary schools is currently eligible for the General Employment Permit. In order to ensure that job opportunities are made available to Irish and EEA nationals, employers must undertake a Labour Market Needs Test before a General Employment Permit can be issued.

The Government’s policy is that employment opportunities should, in the first instance, be offered to suitably skilled Irish and other EEA nationals and should only be offered to non-EEA nationals where no suitable candidate emerges from within the EEA to fill the vacancy. This policy fulfils our obligations under the Community Preference principles of membership of the EU.

In order to maintain the relevance of the lists 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) of my Department, SOLAS and by a public consultation.

My Department chairs the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group to oversee the review process which includes membership drawn from senior officials of key departments including the Department of Education which has policy responsibility for this sector.

The Department continues to keep the employment permits system under review in light of changing labour market circumstances. Outside of the full review process the Department continues to be in contact with other relevant policy departments to address particular challenges as they arise. The timing of the next Review of the Occupational Lists is being kept under consideration.