Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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67. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made to date by his Department in respect of streamlining the employment permit application process, whereby a single application process for employment permits and entry visa applications would be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21731/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In a decision on 13 December 2022 the Government agreed in principle that a single application procedure for employment permits, and immigration permissions should be developed and implemented in order to meet the requirements of the recast Single Permit Directive. This commitment was reaffirmed in the current Programme for Government, and great deal of progress has been made since.

An important step in creating a single application procedure between my Department and the Department of Justice is the interoperability of our systems. I am pleased to inform you that, as of Monday 28th April, the new ‘Employment Permit Online’ system is now live. This modern, cloud-based system will transform the way in which employment permits are submitted, processed and issued. It will deliver an improved customer experience and a more secure, efficient and responsive service. Additionally, being based on similar technologies to the Department of Justice’s systems, this will provide the infrastructure for a single process between our two departments.

In addition to this important milestone, the project management team, co-chaired by my Department and the Department of Justice, have been laying the groundwork for the enhanced sharing of information between our IT systems and any legislative changes required for this. They have also been engaging with EU bodies as well as other Member States with similar processes in place to those we are currently developing. With a modern, adaptable employment permit system now in place, this collaboration will continue in earnest over the next year, focusing on initial streamlining while working towards a fully implemented single application procedure by 2027.