Nearly 31,000 employment permits issued to non-EEA workers last year

Occupations on the critical skills permit list include engineering professionals, ICT professionals, registered nurses and registered midwives.

Nearly 31,000 employment permits were issued by the Department of Enterprise last year, according to latest figures.

Of those, 2,613 permits were issued for non-European Economic Area (EEA) workers based in Cork and 384 in Kerry. Dublin saw 15,041 permits issued, the highest in the country.