Damien English, Minister for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English, has introduced the Employment Permits Bill 2022 to Dáil Éireann, which the minister said will modernise the employment permit system in Ireland.
For the first time, the Bill introduces a Seasonal Employment Permit to cater for short term and recurrent employment situations in certain sectors.
The main Provisions of the Bill are:
• the introduction of a seasonal employment permit
• revision of the labour market needs test to make it more relevant and efficient
In Association with
• moving of operational criteria to regulations, and the streamlining of a number of requirements to make the grant process more efficient
• providing for additional conditions for the grant of an employment permit, such as training or accommodation support for migrant workers in some circumstances, or making innovation or upskilling a condition of grant, where this may decrease future reliance on economic migration.
Minister English commented: “Ireland is an outlier internationally in not providing a seasonal employment permit and the need for this permit type is borne out in my department’s engagement with employers.
“We want to be sure we get this right for employers and workers. My department and I will work with the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment to ensure as many voices as possible are heard as we finalise the details.”
Labour Market Needs Test
English (pictured) added that the legislation also addresses the "inherent inflexibility" of the Labour Market Needs Test by simplifying the process for employers, to reflect modern advertising practices.
By moving operational detail into secondary legislation, the minister explained, the Labour Market Needs Test can be amended as recruitment practices evolve over time, balancing the protection of the EEA labour market with the needs of employers.
The Bill adds the option of new conditionalities attaching to the grant of an employment permit.
According to English, this is designed to increase apprenticeship and training opportunities for the domestic and EEA workforce to protect the EEA labour market and help employers to reduce their dependence on employment permits.
New provisions will also enable subcontractors registered in Ireland to access the employment permit system.
According to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Employment Permits system is designed to attract skilled workers from outside the EEA to Ireland, to meet skills demand in the economy where those skills can’t be accessed through the resident labour force.
For the purposes of the employment permits system, occupations fall into three categories:
• Occupations listed on the Critical Skills Occupations List are skilled professional roles that are in high demand and are not always available in the resident labour force.
• Ineligible occupations are those with evidence that there are more than enough Irish/EEA workers to fill such vacancies.
• Every other job in the labour market, where an employer cannot find a worker, is eligible for an employment permit. For these occupations, the employer is required to undertake a Labour Market Needs Test (i.e. advertise the job four weeks). If no-one suitable applies for the job the employer is free to apply for an employment permit.
Minister English stressed that while the Employment Permits Bill 2022 will make the permits system more agile, the core policy remains unchanged.
“Employment opportunities which arise in Ireland should only be offered to non-EEA nationals where no suitable candidate within the EEA is available to fill the vacancy.
“We continue to prioritise upskilling of our own talent pool with an emphasis on lifelong learning, as well as maximising the use of suitable talent in the EEA,” he stated.
Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
