Employment Permits – Update
In an announcement on 20th December last year, Neale Richmond TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, announced a comprehensive list of changes to the employment permits system which is the largest expansion of the employment permit system since its inception.
In summary, 11 roles have been added to the Critical Skills Occupations List and 32 roles have been removed from the Ineligible Occupations List making them eligible for General Employment Permits, so long as the other requirements are met.
Minimum salary requirements for different employment permit types will experience gradual increments. The minimum salary requirement for all general employment permits will steadily rise to €39,000 until January 2026. In the case of a critical skills employment permit, if the applicant is mandated to possess a relevant third-level degree, the minimum salary requirement will increase to €44,000. However, the elevated salary threshold of €64,000 for a critical skills employment permit will remain.
The Minister also introduced an extension of existing quotas for dairy farm assistants, butcher/deboners, meat processors and horticultural workers. It was also announced the Labour Market Needs Test is required for General Employment Permit applications and will have to reflect the revised thresholds in order to be deemed valid.
The list of occupations added to Critical Skills and General Employment Permit Lists and salary requirements can be found here: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/news-and-events/department-news/2023/december/20122023.html
Changes to the salary requirements and extension of existing quotas will be effective as of 17th January 2024. In addition to the above changes, a roadmap was announced which will result in the salary thresholds for certain employment permits being increased again in January 2025, July 2025, and in January 2026.
This article was written by Mislav Magas, HR Consultant at Action HR Services
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DISCLAIMER:
The information in this article is provided as part of the Action HR Services Blog. Specific queries should be directed to a member of the Action HR Services Team and it is recommended that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct on 11th January 2024.