Some businesses will be able to recruit more than half of their staff from outside the Republic, United Kingdom and other parts of Europe under planned laws.
The provisions of what is known as “the 50:50 rule” will be able to be temporarily adjusted under measures being advanced by the Department of Enterprise.
The department said the change would apply to the health and social care area “on the basis of its role in delivering vital services for the public good”. But it was “not intended to change the headline ratio across all sectors”.
However, the Government is coming under pressure to extend the initiative to cover areas such as road haulage, where a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers exists.
Ministers have been lobbied by the nursing home sector, in particular, which has argued that it cannot secure sufficient staff within the State, UK and broader European Economic Area (EEA).
Operators maintain the limits on recruitment from outside Ireland and elsewhere in Europe are affecting their ability to run their facilities.
A review carried out by department officials recommended changes to the law, with the Cabinet approving the policy change in May.
“Ireland’s employment permits system is designed to fill labour gaps while protecting the domestic workforce,” the review found.
“Under Irish employment permits legislation, the 50:50 rule requires that at least half of an employer’s workforce are EEA, UK, or Swiss nationals before applying for an employment permit to hire non-EEA staff. This strict interpretation of the EU’s union preference principle has proven effective in limiting non-EEA labour reliance but can pose challenges in some sectors such as healthcare.”
The department said it was finalising the general scheme of a Bill and it was intended to bring this to Government by the end of next month. It said the timing of the enactment of the legislation was a matter for the Oireachtas.
In a letter, dated July 10th, to Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke and Minister of State Alan Dillon, representative body Nursing Homes Ireland and dozens of individual centres expressed concern about the legislation not being enacted before the Oireachtas’ summer recess.
“It is imperative for Government to address the threat to service continuity that the current 50:50 rule poses to the nursing home sector, with immediate action on the implementation of this legislative amendment to alter the legislative constraint to care provision and workforce development,” the letter stated.
Dillon said the new powers would provide support for the health and social care sector and the issues it faces in 50:50 compliance.
The Irish Road Haulage Association has sought the new legislation to be extended to cover the drivers of heavy goods vehicles. In a letter to Dillon, it said the industry welcomed the Government’s recognition that labour shortages in strategically important sectors could justify targeted derogations from the 50:50 requirement.
“However, we are concerned that the proposed reform … may be confined to healthcare-related employments only.
“The road freight sector faces a similarly acute and persistent labour shortage. Haulage operators across the State continue to experience significant difficulties in recruiting sufficient numbers of qualified heavy goods vehicle drivers from within Ireland and the wider EEA labour market.”