A plan to make 500 work permits available for the dairy sector is “under active consideration” by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
That’s according to Minister of State Martin Heydon, who met with Minister of State Damien English last week to progress the plan for 500 further permits for work in the dairy sector.
Minister Heydon is the minister with responsibility for new market development, farm safety, and research and development at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Minister English is the minister with responsibility for employment at the Department of Enterprise.
“I met with my counterpart Minister Damien English at the Department of Enterprise last week to try and push forward the case,” Minister Heydon told Agriland at the 2022 National Conference of the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland (FCI) today (Wednesday, December 7).
“There is a very strong case there in terms of the dairy sector for an ask of 500 permits,” he added.
100 work permits for the dairy sector were provided last year. Minister Heydon explained that those permits have now been availed of.
“The 100 that were received last year were very much needed. They have been used, and have shown that there is a real deficit and a real challenge there in the dairy sector in terms of labour,” he commented.
“And it’s to articulate those points back [to the Department of Enterprise] and to make that case as strongly as possible, and it’s under active consideration by the Department of Enterprise.
“I continue to do everything from the agriculture side to make that case, and that we try and get delivery of [the permits] as soon as possible for the sector. It’s absolutely critical and time is of the essence,” the minister added.
Taking questions from contractors at the FCI event, Minister Heydon also said that it would likely be February before the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertiliser Regulation Bill is passed.
“The challenge with the fertiliser bill is that it is part of legislation that also includes vet medicines, and has been delayed. We’re not obviously going to have time to pass the legislation through the Dáil, with five different stages of it, so on that basis we won’t have the legislation passed before the end of the year,” the minister commented.
He added: “It will most likely be into February now, by the time we start in January and it goes through the five different stages.”
Minister Heydon’s comments come after Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue confirmed that the bill will not be passed by the end of this year.
Speaking at a Fianna Fáil agricultural policy conference on Saturday (December 3), the minister said that the Attorney General had advised that, on the issue of allowing non-vets to prescribe veterinary medicines, it would not be legally possible to retrospectively designate responsible persons (such as licenced merchants) as prescribers.
Minister McConalogue said he aims to have the bill passed in January.