1,100 work permits were issued to the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in the first five months of 2026.

Figures from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) show that 340 permits were issued to the sector in May, 326 in April and 133 in March.

The number of permits issued so far is an increase of around 10% on the 995 issued during the same period last year.

A lot of the permits issued in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector relate to meat processing, horticulture enterprises, particularly mushroom growers, and dairy farms.

Across all sectors, a total of 15,535 work permits have been issued so far this year.

The sector with the highest number of work permits issued so far this year is health and social work activities, with 4,204 permits.

Employment permits

The employment permits system is administered in accordance with the Employment Permits Act 2024, under which all applications are assessed against the relevant statutory criteria.

The permits system is designed to facilitate the recruitment of non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals where skills needs cannot be met from within the state or the wider EEA.

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, and Minister of State Alan Dillon, recently announced a series of updates to Ireland’s employment permits system to address ongoing skills and labour shortages across key sectors. 

The measures are designed to support industries experiencing acute shortages across the EU construction sector, the healthcare sector, the transport sector, and the agri-food sectors.