14 June 2021 Damien English T.D., Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, has today announced changes to the employment permits system for workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), following a comprehensive review.
Minister English said: “These changes, which will come into effect from today, will address immediate skills and labour shortages in the healthcare and nursing home sectors.”
Ireland operates a managed employment permit system through occupation lists, namely the critical skills and ineligible occupation lists, which are reviewed twice a year. This is an evidence-based process that takes account of labour market conditions and submissions from sectors and other stakeholders together with contextual factors, including in the current context, COVID-19. The purpose of the system is to maximise the benefits of economic migration while minimising the risk of disrupting the Irish labour market.
Evidence within the healthcare sector suggest increasing competition for skilled candidates in several healthcare roles and that despite increased efforts to recruit from the Irish and European labour markets, including through engagement with the Department of Social Protection, supply has not sufficiently met demand.
Key features are
- Healthcare Assistants will be eligible for Employment Permits
- Dieticians will qualify for a Critical Skills Employment Permit
- Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, and Speech and Language Therapists will be eligible for an Employment Permit
Minister English concluded: “Our economic migration policy accommodates the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill skills and labour gaps in the domestic economy in the short to medium term. My Department reviews the system bi-annually, working with other Government Departments to promote an integrated approach to address labour and skills shortages in the longer term. Where shortages are clearly evidenced, the employment permit system is flexible enough to address these shortages in real time.”