The provision of work permits for meat processors have been supplied to the extent that their quotas have now been described as “exhausted” by a government minister.
This was said by Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), Neale Richmond, on Tuesday, November 7 in Dáil Éireann, speaking ahead of the expected release of the review of lists for employment permits this month.
“All quotas for meat processing operatives have now been exhausted,” he said, in response to Deputy Pauline Tully asking if work permits would be made available to the meat processing industry while the review of lists is underway.
“The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) leads government policy for the agri-food sector and has responsibility for undertaking the strategic review of the labour needs of the meat processing industry,” Minister Richmond said.
Work permits for meat processors
Minister Richmond was able to provide an update to Deputy Tully regarding the timeframe for the completion of the review.
“Officials of my department are actively engaging with the DAFM to make progress on the review, and I understand that terms of reference for the review are being finalised at present, and the review will be published on e-Tenders in the coming weeks,” Minister Richmond said.
The review will cover the Critical Skills Occupation List and Ineligible Occupations List, and will determine what sectors will benefit from occupations that are essential to their industries being added to these lists.
Referring to the work permit quotas for the meat processing industry, agriculture, and agri-food sectors, Minister Richmond said they were opened with a provision that “a strategic review on labour attraction and retention in the sector” would be carried out.
This would be to “examine more sustainable solutions for meeting the labour needs of the sector into the future,” he added.
The initial opening of these quotas in 2021, according to Richmond, saw an additional 1,500 general employment permits for meat processing operatives, along with 500 for meat deboners.
Richmond previously said that in June 2022, 425 permits were granted to meat processors, which meant “all quotas for meat processing operatives have now been filled”.
Minister Richmond did provide an update on the group that is tasked to oversee the review of the list – the Economic Migration Policy Inter-Departmental Group.
The group convened on October 26 to “consider submissions”, including those from the meat processors.