A Tipperary TD says the issue surrounding work permits is reaching crisis level for many employers.
Independent Deputy Michael Lowry raised the issue with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dáil.
The Thurles TD is calling on the government to simplify and expediate the process.
“A growing number in healthcare, food processing, hospitality, agricultural and transport sectors are battling through a system that is fraught with long delays and refusals based in minor human errors on the application. This triggers an appeals process that is taking up to eighteen weeks to complete.
“The vast majority of these errors could be rectified by simply communicating directly with the applicant.
“I’ve been inundated with calls from exasperated people in all these sectors across Tipperary who are unable to secure staff in Ireland or within the EU.”
The Taoiseach said a plan of action is being implemented by the Department of Enterprise to meet the challenges of the increased demand
According to Micheál Martin this includes the recruitment of additional staff which will increase overall processing capacity by 100%.
“898 employment permits were processed last week which is over triple the 259 processes in the same week last year.
“Waiting time for critical skills employment permits are 7 weeks for trusted partner and 9 weeks for standard applications – these stood at 14 weeks for trusted partners and 21 weeks for standard only seven weeks ago so progress is being made.
“The backlog continues to fall – it’s now at 8,851 which is over 2,000 below its Christmas 2021 peak.”
