The announcement of changes to the employment permit system for workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) has been welcomed as a positive step by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) but, it says, more is needed to deal with serious labour shortages in the sector.

Changes to the General Employment Permit system were announced this morning by Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English.

These changes, which apply to a number of key economic sectors, will create new employment-permit quotas to address the serious labour shortages in the agriculture and agri-food sectors.

These will include:

IFA president, Tim Cullinan said it was "positive to see some progress on this urgent issue".

"The IFA has lobbied continuously on this matter for months," he said.

"The dairy, horticulture, pig and poultry sectors have all been seriously impacted due to an insufficient supply of workers."

IFA dairy chair, Stephen Arthur, acknowledged the introduction of 100 permits for dairy-farm assistants but said it is not enough.

"We lobbied the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for 500 permits. This is a positive first step upon which we can build, but the minister will need to approve more for the busy spring season.”

IFA horticulture chair, Paul Brophy said that the new permit quota for 1,000 horticultural operatives is "long overdue and critical" for the sector and he called for clarity on the timeframe for approval of these permits.

"The additional permits should help to alleviate the considerable immediate shortfall. However, the seasonal permit scheme needs to be in place before next spring."

"We cannot be in a situation where crops are not harvested for Christmas because of staff shortages," he said.

IFA pigs chair, Roy Gallie added: "This announcement goes some way towards addressing acute staff shortages in the supply chain.

"It is, however, hugely disappointing that pig-farm operatives were not included in this announcement."

On the poultry side, this morning's announcement was met with disappointment by IFA poultry chair, Andy Boylan, who said the poultry sector had been excluded again.

"There is an increased demand for experienced poultry workers, which has not been addressed. The DAFM must release a quota of 100 workers for the sector urgently."

Minister English has said that these employment permit changes are "only one part of the response to addressing skills and labour deficits that are likely to continue into the medium term".

He added that these measures were introduced to assist the sector as legislation proceeds to address the seasonal employment permits issue.