Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 April 2026
211. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to examine the case of a person (details supplied) who has been unable to renew their General Employment Permit due to the 50:50 non-EEA employee quota rule; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27716/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Employment Permits System is administered in accordance with the Employment Permits Act 2024, which provides the statutory framework for the granting, renewal and refusal of employment permits, and requires that applications be assessed against defined legislative criteria and labour market needs.
A central feature of the system is the 50:50 rule, set out in sections 22 and 39 of the Act. This rule requires that, at the time of application, at least 50% of an employer’s workforce must be nationals of the EEA (including Ireland), the United Kingdom or Switzerland. The rule is a key safeguard designed to protect the domestic and EEA labour market and reflects Ireland’s obligations under the EU principle of Union Preference.
Since 2025, the Government has provided limited and temporary flexibility in respect of the 50:50 rule for companies operating in the older persons residential care sector. This flexibility, agreed with the Department of Health, applies only to renewal applications and does not extend to the issuing of new employment permits where the 50:50 requirement is not met. This measure applies only to renewal applications assessed on or after its introduction and cannot be applied retrospectively to applications that had already been lawfully determined.
In the case referred to by the Deputy, a renewal application was made in advance of the expiry of the individual’s General Employment Permit on 30 June 2024. That renewal application was refused on the basis that the employer did not meet the statutory 50:50 requirement. At the time the application was assessed, there was no provision allowing for flexibility in the application of the 50:50 rule in respect of that sector.
As the permit in question has since expired and the renewal application was refused in accordance with the legislation and policy in force at the time, it is not possible to reconsider that decision. Any future application in respect of the individual would need to be made as a new employment permit application and assessed in full against the statutory criteria applicable to new permits, including compliance with the 50:50 rule.
