Mattie McGrath on Staffing Crisis: Call to Speed Up Work Permits
Mattie McGrath warned of widespread staff shortages and urged the government to accelerate work and employment permit processing. He argued that delays are crippling businesses across farming, slaughterhouses, agri-host contractors and hospitality.
Staff shortages across industries
The deputy described a sector-wide crisis as many non-nationals have returned to their own countries, leaving employers unable to source employees. He said pigs cannot be slaughtered and farms with cows and lambs, as well as hospitality venues, are operating at reduced hours or closed half-time because of a lack of staff.
Backlog in employment permits
McGrath criticised the department for being too slow to grant permits and said officials are still working on October's list of applications. He emphasised that current turnaround times for employment permits are too long and need urgent improvement to get workers into jobs.
Expedited applications and rising demand
The Tánaiste and its officials, he noted, are working to improve processing; applications can be expedited in exceptional cases but must be supported by a compelling business case. The number of applications has risen significantly - even relative to 2019 it is up 47 per cent - and officials described the rise as part of the rebound after Covid.
Economic and social consequences
McGrath warned that the divide in the workforce is crippling businesses and will have a huge impact on the economy and people's lives unless action is taken. He called on the government to act to get people back to work and to restore businesses to full operation.
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The impact is the return of so many non-nationals to their own countries. There's a crisis out there now across every industry. The pigs can't be slaughtered. Farming, whether it be cows, whether it be lambs, whether it be agri-host contractors, and the hospitality industry. Across the board, employees can't be sourced. They're not there to be got. And many, many places have closed half-time because they can't have the numbers of staff. Many have returned. And the department is too slow in granting even work payments to people who are... Business people are sourcing them abroad, but they can't get them in. They're working on October's list of applications now. Something seismic has to be done here to get people that want to come in and work in Ireland, get our Irish people back to work as well, because divide is there and it's crippling businesses, and it's going to have a huge impact on the economy as well as the lives of people. So the government needs to really act on this to try and get people back into the workplace and get business back and running, up and running. Thanks very much, Deputy McGrath, for raising this issue. It is something we're all experiencing and we're all being contacted by employers who are struggling to get staff and struggling, indeed, to bring staff in from abroad. We have, of course, an internal market within the European Union of about 450 million people. But even within such a large pool, it is still proving very difficult to attract people into Ireland with the requisite skills. We acknowledge that the turnaround times at the moment for employment permits are too long, and the Tánaiste and its officials are working on this with a view to improving it. It is the case that if an employment permit is urgently needed, a request to have a specific application expedited can be made, and it will be considered in exceptional cases and must be accompanied by a compelling business case setting out the individual circumstances involved. But the number of such applications has gone up very significantly. Even relative to 2019, it is up 47 per cent. So it is part of the rebound we are seeing after Covid. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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