Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
514. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will collaborate with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide evidence to support a quota increase for dairy farm assistants, given the clearly demonstrated ongoing shortage and the urgency described by farmers themselves. [71067/25]
View answer513. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department considers the exhaustion of the permit quota for dairy farm workers, at a time when labour demand in the sector is especially high, to pose a risk to farm productivity and food output in the spring; and if so, the actions his Department propose to support farmers under labour pressure. [71066/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 513 together.
My colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has policy and operational responsibility for employment permits. Arising from my ongoing engagement with sector stakeholders, my Department is in regular contact with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) regarding the labour shortages that exist in certain sub-sectors of agrifood.
The role of the dairy farm assistant first became eligible for an employment permit in 2018 and has been provided with a quota of 1,100 General Employment Permits to date. This quota is filled since November 2025. DETE is currently conducting a review of the employment permits occupations lists, following a public consultation that invited submissions from stakeholders. This review will determine future employment permit quotas. I am informed that an assessment of all submissions and supporting evidence is underway and that each review incorporates research undertaken by the SOLAS Skills and Labour Market Research Unit and the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, along with input from the Inter-Departmental Group on Economic Migration, of which my Department is a member. Final recommendations from this review are expected to be published in early 2026.
I will continue to work closely with the sector and with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to help ensure that there is a sufficient workforce available to the agrifood sector.
