Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2023
75. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the work to improve processing time of work permits; the work being done to improve the efficiency of the work permit system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9260/23]
View answerWill the Minister outline the current state of play in respect of the processing of work permits? At one stage, the time from application to getting a permit was approximately 20 weeks, although there has been a dramatic improvement in that. I ask the Minister to outline what work has been done to make it an efficient system.
I thank the Deputy. The number of employment permit applications submitted to my Department increased significantly from 18,977 in 2019 to 16,449 in 2020, then to 27,719 in 2021 and to just over 35,606 last year, which resulted in a backlog in applications. The Department developed an action plan to reduce this backlog and the employment permit processing timelines. Following the successful implementation of the plan, the employment permits unit has reduced the number of applicants awaiting processing from approximately 11,000 in January last year to just over 900 on 20 February this year.
Despite further strong demand, the Department received almost 36,000 employment permit applications in 2022. Processing times have fallen from 21 weeks to four to seven business days. The Department plans to maintain processing times for all applications at this level - in other words, a person can get it done in a week - on the assumption that estimated demand remains at current levels for this year. The employment permits unit has also introduced a range of measures to assist applicants in their applications. User guides and dedicated checklists have been developed, as well as a series of video guides produced in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland that detail the steps involved in completing and submitting an employment permit application.
From 16 January of this year, the Department commenced screening all general employment permit applications across a small number of key mandatory criteria to ensure compliance with the requirements of this permit type. Should the application fail to provide the required valid information, it will be returned with a comprehensive explanation and a full refund. This new process will provide early notification of failed applications while also ensuring that valid applications are processed in a speedy and efficient manner.
From October of last year, the Department introduced a new system to refund fees electronically directly through credit or debit cards used to pay for the application. This has resulted in refunds being made within days as opposed to the multiple weeks this process would have previously taken. In addition, the Department has recently appointed IT systems specialists to undertake the design and implementation of a new online employment permits system with the aim of delivering further efficiencies and an improved customer experience.
An efficient and responsive employment permit system is a critical component to ensure that talent is attracted to Ireland from non-EEA countries. I am committed to improving the efficiency of administrative processes and making services more customer friendly to the benefit of both employers and potential employees.
It is very much welcome that the time period has improved dramatically. I thank the Minister and the Department officials for the work they have done in assisting that improvement. Getting a work permit is one issue and then there is the issue of visas. I understand an interdepartmental committee was set up between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Department of Justice in December. What progress has been made in respect of co-ordinating the work permit applications and visa applications? This is a difficult issue as people can wait for up to 20 weeks for a visa. That process needs to be expedited.
Another issue arises with regard to organisations that require people to get clearance, for instance, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and the Medical Council. The whole procedure for processing those applications needs to be expedited, even in cases where people have work permits.
As I outlined, the Department has done an extraordinary job in effectively changing, modernising and improving the efficiency of the work permit system. I pay tribute to my predecessor and the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, who is also involved in that discussion.
This time last year, this was a huge issue for many businesses. It is no longer an issue from a delay perspective. There are still issues, though, that need further consideration, one of which the Deputy spoke about. We effectively have an application system whereby a work permit can be obtained for a person but a visa must also be obtained to bring that person here. Those two systems operate independently of each other. The visa application could take considerably longer, so even if a person gets his or her work permit within a working week, that is no good if we cannot bring the person in. My Department and the Department of Justice are now talking about how we can streamline a single application system that would involve a visa and work permit. That is not a straightforward process legally, however. It involves two separate Departments and security checks and so on but we are working on that. I do not expect significant progress on that until probably next year.
Can the Minister not set a timeline for the Departments to work out a solution to this problem? A big complaint I hear, for instance, is that medical practitioners who are going to New Zealand or Australia can get a visa and work permit sorted in a week, whereas we still have a glitch in our system whereby a person can get a work permit but cannot get a visa. I encourage the Minister to engage with the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais. There is a big complaint about the timeline for getting people registered who are qualified in other jurisdictions and need to be approved here. That needs to be sorted.
Before the Minister responds, I call Deputy Stanton.
The Department website identifies intracompany transfer employment permits as being invaluable and very important in bringing highly skilled people and personnel into the country. However, spouses, partners and dependants of intracompany transfer employment permit applicants are not eligible for a dependent, partner or spouse employment permit and must apply for a separate employment permit in their own right. Large companies tell me this is acting as a deterrent to people with high skills coming into Ireland and they would like that changed as it pertains to the critical skills employment permit. Will the Minister commit to examining this matter in the forthcoming legislation on employment permits with a view to making the change to which I am alluding?
Yes is the straight answer but I will come back to Deputy Stanton on the detail of that. My understanding was that we had made progress in facilitating spouses whose partners have a work permit to come and work here. I will come back to the Deputy with the detail of that because certainly the intention is to make some progress in that area.
With regard to the Medical Council, I am happy to have a meeting either with Deputy Colm Burke or independently regarding some of those issues. From an enterprise perspective, but also from a healthcare perspective, we are reliant on bringing in skills from other parts of the world. That has to happen quickly and efficiently in many cases, whether it is for nursing home care or State-run bodies such as hospitals and so on. If there is an unnecessary blockage in terms of the timeline, we can keep working on trying to address that. I can also speak to the Minister for Health on it if that is helpful.
