Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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68. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the critical skills list review will be carried out sooner than scheduled by his Department in view of the enormous resourcing pressures presently paralysing enterprises; if he is aware in particular of the shortage of transmission line workers and the refusal of work permits for such workers despite their unavailability in the Irish market; the reason his Department is waiting until autumn to initiate work to address this pressing problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31624/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This week a public consultation was announced which commences a review of the occupations on the ineligible and the critical skills employment permits lists. This review invites submissions from users of the employment permits system and interested parties and provides a window of eight weeks for the preparation of evidence from sectors.

The review process will take into account stakeholder submissions and will also be informed by research undertaken by labour market policy research bodies such as the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) and SOLAS. The views of the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group, chaired by this Department, which includes representatives of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications as the lead policy department for the energy supply and service sector, will also be considered.

Officials of my Department have been engaging with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications over the last number of weeks with regard to the role of overhead linesman which has been identified as a key role in short supply across the EU in the energy and supply services sector and a submission has been received recently from the sector. The submission is under active consideration at present.

My Department reviews the employment permits system regularly, working with other Government departments to promote an integrated approach to address skills shortages in the longer term. However, economic migration alone is not a sustainable long-term solution to labour shortages. Government policy continues to focus on approaches that educate and upskill the population in response to the ever-changing needs of business, and as a general principle our labour market policy should aim to ensure that most labour and skills needs are met from within the domestic and EEA workforce.

My Department actively responds to the concerns raised by various sectors of the economy with regard to the short supply of skills in a number of roles and this has been highlighted by the number of amendments made to the Employment Permits Regulations over the last two years, with many sectors provided with access to employment permits.

An efficient and responsive Employment Permit system is a critical component to ensure that talent is attracted to Ireland from non-EEA countries. I am committed to improving the efficiency of administrative processes and making services more customer friendly to the benefit of both employers and potential employees.