Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

25. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if an employment permit application by a person (details supplied) will be expedited. [63587/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Employment Permits Section of the Department informs me that the General Employment Permit application submitted in respect of the person concerned (in the details supplied) was refused on 18th November 2022 and on 1st December 2022 the refusal decision was upheld by the Reviewing Officer.

It was refused as the job on offer is not listed on the Critical Skills Occupations List and therefore it was necessary for a Labour Market Needs Test to be carried out prior to submitting the employment permit application.

When determining if a job is listed on the Critical Skills Occupation List consideration is given to both the job title and the description of the employment provided in the application. While it is accepted that in some situations that a role on offer could overlap across a number of different SOC Codes, the occupation is however classified under the SOC Code that the role primarily falls under. In this case, it is recognised that some elements of the role on offer could be classified as falling on the Critical Skills Occupations List, but it mainly fell under SOC Code 3534, which is not specified on the CSOL. Roles falling under the unit group covered by SOC Code 2424 manage and oversee major projects across all sectors of modern industry, commerce and the public sector, in areas such as e-commerce, business analysis, finance, product development, marketing, human resources.

It is important to point out that the refusal to grant an employment permit does not preclude an applicant from submitting another application for an employment permit. Such an application should comply with all of the legislative requirements for the particular employment permit type.

To assist applicants when applying for a General Employment Permit a checklist document has been prepared and is available on the Department’s website and can be accessed through this link: enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/General-Employment-Permits-Checklist.pdf

For information, the minimum annual remuneration for a General Employment Permit is €30,000 based on a 39-hour working week. There are a limited number of exceptions to this minimum threshold which includes non-EEA students who have graduated in the last 12 months and are offered graduate positions from the CSOL. A non-EEA student who has graduated from an Irish third level institution must be offered a graduate position from the CSOL; a non-EEA student who has graduated from an overseas third level institution must be offered a graduate position as an ICT professional from the CSOL. At renewal stage, the minimum annual remuneration in both cases must be €30,000 based on a 39-hour working week.

In view that the role stated on the General Employment Permit application submitted was not considered to be on the CSOL, the minimum annual remuneration on offer for any future application for a similar role must be €30,000 based on a 39 hour working week.

Information is provided on the Department’s website in respect of employment permits including information regarding to each permit type, the requirement to undertake a Labour Market Needs Test, list of occupations ineligible for an employment permit, Checklist documents for a General and Critical Skills Employment Permit and an FAQ document which answers the majority of the most common questions, all of which are available through this link: enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/