The Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, has announced some important changes to the Irish Employment Permit system.

The changes are as follows:

New Occupations Added To Critical Skills List

The following occupations have been added to the Critical Skills Occupation List:

  • Cardiac Physiologist
  • Medical Scientist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Physiotherapist
  • Podiatrist / Chiropodist
  • Psychologist
  • Speech and Language Therapist
  • Pharmacist

The addition of these roles to the Critical Skills List means that where an employer is unable to fill a position for one of the above roles, the salary is over €32,000 per annum, the grant of the permit will not result in more than 50% of the employees being non-EU/EEA nationals, and the applicant employee holds a relevant third level degree, then they may be eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.

Bricklayer and plasterer quota

The positions of Bricklayer and Plasterer were made eligible for a General Employment Permit in April 2019, subject to a quota limitation.

The Minister has announced that the quota has now been abolished and therefore an unlimited number of general employment permits can be issued for these positions.

Meat Processing Operative Quota

In April 2022 it was announced that the quota for meat processing operatives had been filled, that new applications would not be accepted for processing and that applications which had already been submitted and which were in the processing queue, would not be processed.

A quota extension of 425 Meat Processing Operative employment permits has now been approved. This will allow for the processing of general employment permit applications for meat processing operatives which were in the processing queue and any new applications subject to the 425-permit quota.

Sinnott Solicitors Dublin and Cork have a dedicated team of Immigration Solicitors and Consultants who are experts on all Irish immigration matters including Irish Employment Permits and Employment Visas. If you have any queries on the contents of this article, or require assistance with your employment permit application, do not hesitate to contact our offices today on info@sinnott.ie or 014062862.