Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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456. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he plans to increase the number of work permits for people working here in the caring professions given the shortage of staff in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29510/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Ireland operates a managed, evidence-based employment permits system, which balances the need to address skills and labour shortages with the broader objective of upskilling the domestic and EEA workforce. This system is administered through two Occupations Lists: the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List (IOL), which respectively identify roles in short supply which are critical for the functioning of Irish society and roles for which there is sufficient labour in Ireland/the EEA and which cannot be granted an employment permit.

My Department continues to support to our critical health services by providing employment permits for roles providing medical treatment, care services and care in the home. With an integrated approach to adjusting the employment permits system through engagement with lead policy departments, particularly the Department of Health, labour shortages have been alleviated in these important sectors to ensure people can access the services they need, where and when they need them.

Key medical professional roles are eligible for employment permits without quota restrictions, including those who work as doctors, industrial pharmacists or as specialists such as radiographers, cardiac physiologists and therapy roles. Nurses and midwives have also been eligible for employment permits for a number of years, with approximately 20,000 permits granted since 2020.

More recently, in response to ongoing recruitment challenges in caring professions, a significant number of employment permits have been made available for roles such as healthcare assistants and care workers. The role of care worker/home carer was removed from the IOL in 2022 and made eligible for General Employment Permits under an initial quota of 1,000 permits. Following engagement with the sector and in light of continued staffing shortages, the quota was expanded by a further 500 permits in September 2024 and by a further 1,000 permits in March 2025. As of May 30th 2025, over 1,000 permits remain available under this expanded quota.

Healthcare assistants have been eligible for employment permits since 2021 without any restriction as to the number of permits that can be granted.

The Occupations Lists are periodically reviewed in consultation with stakeholders and are informed by labour market research and cross-departmental input. Submissions to reviews are considered by the Interdepartmental Group on Economic Migration Policy with membership drawn from key Government Departments, which was first convened in 2018 for this purpose. The reviews are also informed by research undertaken by labour market policy research bodies such as the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) and SOLAS.

Where appropriate, and supported by the lead policy department, in this case the Department of Health, applications can be made to increase quotas or remove roles from the quota system entirely, subject to evidence demonstrating sustained demand and shortages.

The next formal review of the Occupations Lists will commence this Summer.