My Department operates the Employment Permits System in accordance with the Employment Permits Act 2024. The legislation sets out various criteria that must be met before a permit can be granted. Applications are subject to a range of conditions including minimum remuneration, skills and qualifications, minimum hours of work, and conditions or limits on the grant of non-EEA labour supply in certain sectors.
The purpose of the employment permits system is to assist economic growth by facilitating the filling of key skills gaps which cannot be filled from the domestic/EEA labour market. The system is administered through the operation of a Critical Skills Occupations List (CSOL) and an Ineligible Occupations List (IOL).
In order to ensure a measured approach is taken to changes that may impact workers in an industry, some roles can be removed from the IOL subject to a quota. This ensures testing of the labour market and the integration of a new cohort of workers into the Irish labour market in a balanced manner.
A quota restriction applies to the number of new General Employment Permits (GEPs) that can be granted for that particular role. The quota does not apply to the grant of renewals. Applications are processed in date order and processing of appropriate applications will continue until the maximum number of new permits for the role has been reached. Once the quota is reached no further GEPs can be granted for that role and applications will be refused.
A refusal to grant an employment permit does not preclude an applicant from submitting another application for an employment permit where a quota restriction has been lifted or extended. Such an application should comply with all of the legislative requirements for the particular employment permit type.
