In the past year, new work permit schemes in Ireland have brought in an estimated €10.5m of investment in terms of the creation and retention of 270 jobs in ICT, recycling and financial services.
The news comes months after Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, TD, announced reforms of the work permit processing system that will see a 50pc increase in the number of employment permits granted over the coming year in the ICT sector and reduction of 33pc in the processing time for employment permits.
The figures were produced by Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy who welcomed the development but said more needs to be done.
“A specific technology visa has yet to be introduced but in the Action Plan for Jobs for 2013 steps were made by the Government towards making it easier for people with relevant technology skills to come and work in Ireland.
“Since April 2012, 27 applications for the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme and 10 applications for the Immigrant Investor Programme have been received. Fourteen applications have been approved under the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme, seven applications have been refused, one applicant gained an alternative status and the remainder are still under consideration. Three applications have been approved under the Immigrant Investor Programme and the remainder are still under consideration.
“To date, the total investment committed under both programmes is of the order of €10.5m and is projected that 270 jobs will be retained or created on foot of these investments in the ICT, recycling and financial services area. In addition, two organisations, one educational and the other a charity, are receiving substantial endowments to support and develop their activities.”
Murphy said these numbers are positive and demonstrate the benefits of a more targeted and competitive visa regime.
“That said, the numbers could be a lot better if we dedicated more resources to the schemes and made them more competitive. This would involve quicker processing times, lower financial thresholds for participants and more rigorous approach to potential investors and start-up companies abroad,” Murphy said.
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