Ireland has announced a significant expansion of its employment permit system in a move aimed at attracting more international workers and tackling persistent labour shortages across critical sectors, including construction, healthcare, transport and agri-food.

The Irish government confirmed 32 changes to the country’s employment permit framework following a comprehensive review of occupation lists that commenced in the summer of 2025.

Details of the reforms were contained in a statement published on Monday on the website of Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

According to the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, the revised framework is intended to make it easier for employers to recruit skilled workers from overseas where domestic labour shortages continue to exist.

The changes are expected to ease recruitment challenges in sectors connected to housing delivery, healthcare services, infrastructure development and food production.

Under the revised system, six occupations have been added to the Critical Skills Employment Permit list, while nine occupations have been made eligible for General Employment Permits without quota restrictions.

In addition, two occupations will now be subject to newly introduced quota limits, while 15 existing quotas have been renewed.

Burke said: “The changes take effect immediately and are designed to respond to persistent labour shortages across priority sectors while maintaining safeguards within the employment permit system.”

The government has also approved measures to amend the Employment Permits Act 2024 regarding the “50:50 rule,” which requires employers to ensure that at least half of their workforce consists of UK or European Economic Area (EEA) nationals.

The review of the provision followed concerns raised over staffing pressures within the health and social care sector.

Burke explained that greater flexibility is especially important in areas such as healthcare assistance, nursing homes, disability care and homecare services to ensure uninterrupted delivery of care services.

Speaking on the reforms, Burke said: “I am delighted to announce these changes today to our employment permit system. These adjustments strengthen the agility and responsiveness of the system, while upholding safeguards such as minimum annual remuneration thresholds, quota management and standard permit terms and conditions.”

He added: “The additions to the Critical Skills Occupations List will support the sourcing of highly skilled international workers across construction, infrastructure, intellectual property and healthcare sectors.”

Burke highlighted the inclusion of construction-related occupations such as Construction Planner/Scheduler and Geospatial Surveyor, noting that the additions would support Ireland’s housing delivery targets and infrastructure ambitions under the National Development Plan.

He also confirmed that five additional construction occupations have been added to the General Employment Permit system. These are Plastic Lining Technicians, Steel Fixers, Fencing Operators/Erectors, Curtain Wallers and Concrete Pump Operators.

The Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Retail, Small Businesses and Employment, Alan Dillon, said the reforms demonstrate a coordinated and balanced approach to labour market policy.

“These changes will promote a whole-of-government, integrated approach to driving responsive economic migration policy and addressing labour and skills shortages as they arise,” he said.

Dillon added: “We are supporting a balanced approach that addresses short-term labour shortages while reinforcing the State’s commitment to long-term domestic skills development.”

He further stated that quota restrictions would remain applicable to lower-skilled occupations in order to ensure that economic migration complements rather than replaces domestic training programmes, apprenticeships and workforce upskilling initiatives.

The ministers said the updated employment permit framework is designed to provide employers with greater certainty when planning recruitment while ensuring that Ireland’s labour market policies remain responsive to economic demands and support long-term workforce sustainability.