Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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114. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether his Department has raised concerns that the new policy on family reunification will have a knock on impact on the recruitment of non-EEA workers in Ireland, particularly those on General Employment Permits; the steps his Department is taking to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17866/26]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My Department has responsibility for the Employment Permits legislation, which provides a framework for granting permission to take up employment in the State, subject to the separate granting of immigration permission by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. Matters relating to family reunification policy, including eligibility thresholds and conditions, fall within the remit of that Department.

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration completed a comprehensive review of the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, with the final report published in November last year. My Department actively participated in the detailed consultation process undertaken as part of this review, including through senior official engagement in the Strategic Migration Policy Group, which brings together DJHAM and the Departments of Social Protection, Housing, Further and Higher Education, Finance, Education, Health and the Department of the Taoiseach.

As part of this process, my Department highlighted the importance of maintaining a responsive and evidence-based migration framework that supports employers in addressing labour and skills shortages, particularly in sectors where there is a continuing reliance on non-EEA workers, including holders of General Employment Permits. The potential labour-market impacts of changes to family reunification thresholds were among the issues examined through this interdepartmental engagement.

The Minimum Annual Remuneration (MAR): Outcome of the Roadmap Review Report published by my Department at the end of last year also contributed to the Family Reunification Policy review. The report indicates that the changing MARs for employment permits will also be taken into account in the context of annual adjustment to the family reunification thresholds.

The review concluded that the levels of income thresholds for lower paid sponsors should be viewed in the context of the sustainability of wage growth, as opposed to lowering income thresholds below the level of eligibility for Working Family Payment. The report goes on to say that "the annual revision of the policy in future, in terms of uprating financial thresholds, will provide an opportunity for this issue to be kept under ongoing review in terms of the changing levels of both the MAR and the WFP."

My Department will continue to work closely with DJHAM and across Government to ensure that Ireland’s economic migration system remains competitive and supports the needs of the labour market while balancing broader social and policy considerations.