Ireland expands permit routes as labour shortages persist

Employment permit use in Ireland continues to rise, according to the latest figures published on 6 July by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The data shows that permit issuance was around 15% higher at the end of June than at the same point last year, highlighting the continuing recruitment pressures facing employers in a number of sectors. So what do these latest figures tell us about the labour and skills shortages employers are experiencing, and are recent changes to Ireland’s employment permit system likely to help? We’ll ask Dublin-based immigration lawyer Louise Shaw that question.

The figures come just weeks after the Irish Government expanded access to employment permits by adding occupations to its Critical Skills Occupations List, removing a number of roles from its Ineligible Occupations List and widening permit opportunities in a number of sectors facing recruitment difficulties. The changes followed a major review involving more than 400 submissions from employers and industry groups and were designed to help address recruitment pressures in areas including construction, healthcare and agriculture. But how closely do the changes reflect the challenges employers are facing on the ground, and what will be needed if businesses are to make effective use of the permit system? Earlier I spoke to immigration lawyer Louise Shaw who joined me from Dublin to discuss it. I started by asking her what the changes tell us about where employers are facing the greatest recruitment pressures.

Louise Shaw: “The changes are sector specific. We've got changes in construction, healthcare, agriculture, those sorts of sectors where we have been hearing for a number of years that employers are struggling to recruit in certain roles. The changes include additions to the Critical Skills Occupation List which means that employers can recruit in those roles and apply for an employment permit without needing to conduct a labour market needs test, which is really positive and just makes the whole process much, much smoother. There is also the removal of roles from the Ineligible Occupation List which means for the first time, the roles that have been taken off that list, employers can apply for a general employment permit. These changes are due to the outcome of a review by the Department for Enterprise Tourism and Employment. They conducted a really comprehensive review, took submissions from the public, they got over 400 submissions, and they also looked at statistics from the European Labour Authority and various industry bodies. The review really looked at where the recruitment issues were most challenging for employers and the changes have come off the back. It remains to be seen whether these changes are enough for the types of recruitment challenges. The review did focus on principles of preserving the domestic market and preserving opportunities for Irish and EEA nationals living in Ireland already. Industry bodies do have to show that they are providing training opportunities and looking at retention within the domestic market before roles can be added to the lists for employment permits. So it remains to be seen whether it's enough or not, but it is certainly very positive for Irish employers in the relevant sectors.”

Joe Glavina: “From what you are seeing, do the changes to the permit rules match the recruitment challenges employers are experiencing on the ground?”

Louise Shaw: “It is really important to note that, although the changes are very positive, they are only for very specific roles within the sectors. So, for example, the roles that have been added to the Critical Skills Occupation List include roles such as games rigging technicians, geospatial schedulers, and agronomists, which are crop scientists, so they are they are very specific roles. Likewise on the ineligible occupation list, the roles that have been taken off that list, so are now eligible for a general employment permit, include healthcare related pharmaceutical technicians, dental hygienists,  
curtain wallers, construction schedulers, so they are very specific. So on a first glance it is very positive that roles have been added and that industry bodies are being listened to as part of the department's review, but it remains to be seen whether it's enough. No roles have been removed from the lists which would also have been a possibility as an outcome of the review, but industry employers may be disappointed when they look at the list and realise that actually it is less of a widening than they might have hoped.”
Joe Glavina: “Are employers making use of these new opportunities yet, and what will early permit uptake tell us about whether the changes are working?”

Louise Shaw: “It is too early to say, I would say, but what I can say is that we've got the figures from the department. They publish monthly figures by sector for employment permit uptake and it is increasing year on year in all sectors, actually. So, if we look at this point in time compared to the end of June last year, there's been about a 15% increase in employment permits that are being issued. So, it's an increase in uptake, but it's also an increase in the number that the department is issuing, which is positive for employers that are relying on permits. In the sectors that we're hearing a lot about in terms of skills shortages such as healthcare and construction the increases are between 15% and 20% in those sectors as well which maps to the total numbers so employers in the sectors that are crying out for the changes to the lists to increase the eligibility might feel that it's not enough but it really does remain to be seen because they're very recent changes.”

So, the key takeaway for employers is that Ireland has widened access to employment permits in response to continuing labour shortages, but it remains to be seen whether the changes will be enough to meet employer demand. If you’d like advice on any of the issues discussed in this programme, you can contact Louise – her details are there on the screen for you.