The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment released data which show that there was almost a one-third increase in the number of work permits issued to overseas staff during the initial half of 2024 compared to the previous year. The amount of work permits issued went up from 15,340 in the first half of 2023, to 19,303 in the corresponding period this year. The healthcare and ICT sector were responsible for approximately 50% of all the permits issued once again.
The figures also point towards the heavy reliance of sectors such as farming, fishing, hospitality, and financial services on international labour. The ICT sector appeared to have brought in fewer people than two years prior, with the 3,282 permits issued amounting to roughly 60% of the total work permits issued during the same timeframe in 2022. However, the healthcare sector experienced continued growth, issuing 6,809 permits, a substantial increase compared to 5,130 and 4,578 permits released in the first halves of the previous two years respectively.
Alterations to the lowest wages prescribed for certain roles, declared in December, distorted the total numbers for the most recent period. This led to a rush in applications and renewals in January before the new requirements were scheduled to start. Colm Collins, director at immigration consultancy firm Fragomen, asserted that the new figures could possibly have a larger than usual ratio of renewals, given the noticeable delays in visa issuance and other complications faced by overseas workers who travelled to Ireland for the first time in 2022, when Covid restrictions were alleviating and the economy was rebounding.
Collins stated on Tuesday, “I don’t believe the rate of incoming workers has returned to the 2022 levels yet.” According to him, some individuals had to apply for a second permit because they weren’t able to relocate and begin working due to several backlogs from two years ago, hence not meeting the two-year residency requirement to be eligible for a Stamp 4 and leave the permit system.
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