Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of work visas granted in each of the years 2022, 2023 and 2024; the average length of time to process such applications, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6789/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The table below sets out the number of employment permits issued in 2022, 2023 and 2024:

My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in 2021, which impacted on processing times.

From the start of January to the end of December 2021, some 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications.

My Department, conscious of the impact delays in the processing times has for businesses and their workers, implemented an action plan which increased resources and introduced more efficient methods of processing permit applications.

This saw the number of applications awaiting processing reduced from c. 11,000 in January 2022 to c. 1,200 by the start of January 2023. Processing times for applications fell from a high of 21 weeks to 2-3 weeks depending on the permit type.

Despite continued strong demand across 2023 processing timelines stood at between 2-4 weeks in December 2023, despite c. 31,000 permits being issued across the year.

2024 saw a further increase in demand for employment permits with over 39,000 permits issued and processing times ranging from 1-4 weeks depending on the permit type.

In late 2024 additional resources were deployed to address this unprecedented demand. At the start of this year this backlog stood at just over 4,000. Over the last number of weeks my Department has reduced this to c. 1,700 applications, with processing times ranging from 1-3 weeks depending on the permit type.

The processing times for employment permit applications varies depending on the type of permit being applied for. Processing times are updated on a weekly basis at the following link: .