Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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296. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employment permits issued in 2025 by sector; whether each sector is classified as experiencing a verified skills shortage; and whether an updated labour market needs analysis has been completed for 2026 permit quotas. [13866/26]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The employment permit system is designed to support businesses across the State in addressing skills and labour shortages that cannot be met through the Irish or EEA workforce. By facilitating access to talent from outside the EEA, the system enables companies to remain competitive, sustain operations, and continue to deliver essential services across the economy.

Sectors are deemed to be experiencing verified skills or labour shortages where occupations within them are included on the Critical Skills Occupations List or are eligible for General Employment Permits. These classifications are evidence based and derived from the Department’s structured review of labour market conditions, which draws on research from SOLAS’s Skills and Labour Market Research Unit, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, public consultation submissions, and inputs from relevant policy Departments through the Economic Migration Interdepartmental Group. The recommendations of this group, as well as sector evidence provide the rationale underpinning a Ministerial decision to update a quota for a particular role or sector.

A new review of the Occupations Lists is currently under way, following an open public consultation, and detailed engagement across Government to ensure alignment with wider labour market priorities, including housing delivery. This intergovernmental process informs the process, ultimately delivering recommendations for employment permit eligibility and quotas. The outcome of this process, reflecting the latest analysis of sectoral shortages, will be published in the coming weeks.

Current processing dates continue to be published and updated regularly on the Department’s website to provide transparency to applicants: enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/employment-permit-statistics-2025.html

In 2025, 31,044 employment permits were issued across all sectors. The data provided in the accompanying table outlines the number of employment permits issued in 2025, broken down by sector, demonstrating the level of demand in areas that remain most reliant on non-EEA labour due to ongoing recruitment challenges.