Permits for 800 migrant farm workers
The Government has issued permits for the horticulture sector to source 500 workers outside the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.
There are also 250 permits for meat processing, and 50 for dairy farms.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys signed off on the changes to Employment Permit Regulations, to make it easier for the agri-food sector to source workers from outside the EEA.
She said: “As we approach full employment, labour shortages at the lower-skilled end of the jobs market are becoming apparent in some sectors. This has the potential to constrict growth, if these needs are not met.
“Parts of the agri-food sector are particularly affected.”
Agriculture Minister Michael Creed welcomed the move, saying the agri-food sector has more than 173,000 employed (8.6% of total employment) and certain parts of the industry have been struggling to fill vacancies for some time.
IFA President Joe Healy said, “We now need clarity to be provided urgently as to how individual farmer employers can apply for these permits, and the time framework within which the pilot will be reviewed, and hopefully amended if necessary and extended as required.”
“Agriculture,especially labour intensive or expanding sectors such as horticulture, dairy and pigs, has a genuine need of additional labour from outside Europe, as we approach full employment, and recovering EU economies have labour needs of their own,” said Mr Healy.
Peter Byrne, CEO of Farm Relief Services, the leading provider of farm labour in Ireland, said they have seen first-hand the rise in demand for workers from dairy farm customers. “Although we do believe that the announcement to allow 50 dairy farm work permits is a positive step, we would like to see this broaden in numbers and areas in the future.”
“We are open to accepting applicants and hope to select and train future FRS operators from this pool of workers to meet the growing demand for labour.”
Minister Creed said the permits are only one piece of the labour supply jigsaw, and the agri-food sector must put significant effort into attracting, retaining and developing the best people to work in the sector. He noted that eligible asylum seekers will have access to employment, including positions in the agri-food sector, from next month.
He said a more comprehensive response on the dairy farm sector’s labour needs will be announced by the government in the coming weeks.
The permits represent a departure from the state’s general policy to promote sourcing of labour and skills from within the workforce of Ireland, the EU, and EEA.
Outside of highly skilled and lower skilled occupations, if an employer cannot find a worker after advertising a job for two weeks, he or can apply for an employment permit worker. But there is a new minimum remuneration threshold of €22,000 for this cohort of migrant workers, and specific obligations on employers around the welfare and prospects of foreign nationals, to include access to suitable accommodation and training in areas such as language skills.
Additional permit quotas may be granted if the agri-sector puts in place strategies to source and retain labour from domestic and European labour markets, and invests in innovative technologies.
The agri-sector permits are additional to 3,536 permits issued to the end of April, a 19% increase over the same period in 2017. In 2017, 11,354 employment permits issued, 21% ahead of 2016.
