It is well known that all sectors in the Irish labour market are acutely affected by the chronic labour shortage presently being experienced in the country. Employers are struggling to fill positions which is having a severe impact on a huge number of businesses at present. Many employers who cannot fill positions with non-Irish or EU nationals are seeking to hire non-EEA nationals to fill available roles however have been faced with lengthy delays in the employment permit processing system which has further impacted their ability to recruit staff in highly skilled positions.
The Irish Employment Permit processing system falls under the realm of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Processing times for employment permits as of todays date are almost four months for employers who hold Trusted Partner status and just under five months for Standard applications.
Employers, business groups and stakeholders have been lobbying the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the past number of months to take all necessary steps to speed up employment permit processing times. It is understood that the Employment Permit Processing Unit has finally been allocated additional resources which will triple the number of staff processing applications to clear the outstanding backlog and reduce future processing times. This is a significant development which will come as a welcome relief to employers and business associations.
The employment permit team at Sinnott Solicitors welcomes the news as we have seen first-hand the effect which the chronic delays in processing applications has had on many businesses. We now look forward to receiving decisions for many of our clients and what we hope will be an expeditions processing of all employment permit applications in the future to ensure that Ireland maintains its economic competitiveness and continues to attract the most talented and skilled workers to the Irish labour market.
With offices in Dublin and Cork, Sinnott Solicitors 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 require assistance with any Irish immigration matters, do not hesitate to contact our offices today on info@sinnott.ie or 014062862 for assistance.
