Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English has today (Friday, December 16) announced changes to the employment permits system for workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to address skills shortages in Ireland’s dairy, transport and home care sectors.
The changes, which will come into effect from today, follow engagement between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; the Department of Transport; and the Department of Health in recent months, and a review of the workforce challenges in these sectors.
Minister English said: “I am delighted to announce further changes to the employment permit system that will help ease the recruitment challenges being experienced in the agriculture, transport and home care sectors.
Dairy sector and other permits
The measures are aimed at alleviating some of the pressures being faced by farmers in the dairy sector, who have struggled to source workers in the local economy.
Evidence provided by consultation with the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) and the Farm Relief Service (FRS) points to significant recruitment challenges and Minister English said that the introduction of this quota will be particularly welcome as we approach the busy calving season.
The measures in respect of home carers follow the establishment of the cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022 to examine strategic workforce challenges in publicly- and privately-provided frontline carer roles in home care and long-term residential care for older people.
The group’s report contained 16 recommendations spanning areas of recruitment, pay and conditions, barriers to employment, training and professional development and sectoral reform, and included a recommendation to establish a quota of 1,000 employment permits for home carers.
The Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and sustainable mobility options, and the establishment of a quota of 1,500 employment permits for bus and coach drivers will help address the recruitment challenges being faced by the sector.
Farm safety
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, welcomed the allocation of general employment permits for dairy farm operatives: “Minister of State Martin Heydon and I have ongoing engagement with the dairy sector stakeholders and have worked closely with our colleagues in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on this issue.
“We are acutely aware of the staffing challenges on some farms and we are moving to address this.
“Spring can be a very challenging time on dairy farms and this announcement today will allow dairy farmers time to arrange to have the necessary labour in place for the busy calving season.”
Minister of State Martin Heydon, who has responsibility for farm safety added: “These permits are very welcome; balancing workload with labour supply is critical to addressing work/life balance for farmers and reducing the risk of farm safety incidents.”
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 regularly, working across government to promote an integrated approach to address labour and skills shortages in the longer term. “
Minister English added that where shortages are clearly evident, the employment permit system is and should be flexible enough to address these shortages in a timely manner.
“Employers will be eligible to apply for the employment permits once they have run the required advertisements for 28 days after today,” Minister English added.
Current processing time for employment permits is between three and five business days.