Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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157. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he can encourage the return of Irish emigrants currently based abroad, with a view to meeting the workplace requirements in terms of extra staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43862/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department is working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and its Embassy network, as well as other Departments, to implement the Government’s Diaspora Strategy, Global Ireland – Ireland’s Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025, which was launched in late 2020. The effective coordination of the implementation of this strategy across Government will be carried out through the Interdepartmental Committee on the Irish Abroad, chaired by the Minister for the Diaspora, and Officials from my Department participate in this Committee. The Department of Foreign Affairs leads on the implementation of this strategy.

Global Ireland sets out a number of actions to strengthen our connections with diaspora communities and to harness the contribution from the diaspora to support our economy, including through promoting and facilitating the return of Irish emigrants.

The strategy recognises how returning emigrants bring with them skills and knowledge gained abroad that can help develop both the national and local economies. To support this, the Government also recognises the need to minimise the challenges faced by individuals and families returning to Ireland. The strategy commits to a number of actions to support the return of members of the diaspora.

These include monitoring barriers to return and adopting measures to remove them where possible; the negotiation of reciprocal agreements with countries that are home to significant Irish diaspora communities, such as double taxation and social security agreements; improvement of the provision of information on returning to Ireland and providing information for Irish citizens living overseas, including the dissemination of information on skills needs; and the expansion of mutual recognition and the portability of academic or professional qualifications earned overseas.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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158. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which vacancies remain to be filled throughout the various economic sectors; the extent to which particular causes have been identified as being central to the vacancy difficulty; the proposals to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43863/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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According to the CSO’s Earnings and Labour Costs survey, the job vacancy rate in Q2 2024, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.1%, down from 1.3% recorded in Q2 2023. The job vacancy rate remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter when 1.1% was also recorded at the end of Q1 2024. There were 26,400 job vacancies at the end of Q2 2024, down by 2,000 from the end of Q2 2023.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q2 2024 were recorded in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector, and the Transportation and Storage sector, at 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively. The lowest job vacancy rate was recorded in the Accommodation and Food Services sector at 0.6%.

A tight labour market, at or near full employment, will give rise to a higher than average job vacancy rate. Government policies aimed at creating an attractive environment for both indigenous enterprise and foreign direct investment and enhancing the availability of talent to employers have resulted in record-breaking levels of job creation being achieved in the context of ongoing international economic and geopolitical turbulence, while initiatives such as Pathways to Work are helping to create a more inclusive labour market.

If this momentum is to be maintained, it will be essential that more people – particularly those in cohorts traditionally more distant from the labour market – are given the support they need to enter employment, ensuring in turn that Irish enterprise continues to have access to a pool of high-quality, adaptable and flexible talent.

To meet the demand for skills and to continue increasing participation in employment, there is close collaboration across Government, in particular between the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, its agencies and my own Department, as well as between Government, industry, and the education and training system more broadly, in order to continue building a highly skilled and inclusive workforce.

My Department operates the Government’s employment permits system which is highly responsive to areas of identified skills needs and labour shortages across the economy. The system is, by design, vacancy led and driven by the changing needs of the labour market. The employment permits 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 consideration for an employment permit.

In December 2023, following extensive engagement with industry representatives and stakeholders on the nature and extent of skills shortages, my Department announced a major expansion to the employment permits system, with 43 changes to the jobs eligible for an employment permit. This included 11 roles added to the Critical Skills Occupations List and 32 roles made eligible for a General Employment Permit. A roadmap for increasing salary thresholds was also announced. Demand for employment permits in Ireland remains high, providing another valuable stream of skilled labour for the Irish economy, which will help to address vacancy rates.