Technology Visa would create jobs not displace them

During a meeting of the Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Committee and Minister Richard Bruton, Senator Deirdre Clune raised the necessity for a technology visa to be introduced to allow highly skilled individuals from abroad to work and live in Ireland.

“I received assurance from the Minister that the department is continuing to work to improve the employment permit and visa regime. The Minister also stated that the current Employment Permit system is contributing substantially to the filling of skills gaps in growing areas.

“He is confident that the system will be improved in the near future to allow for employers to acquire the skills they are unable to source in Ireland.

“The Department of Justice and Equality is currently considering removing restrictions from highly skilled people applying for employment within Ireland, allowing them to search for work prior to applying for an employment permit.

“ It is my view that the development of high-level ICT skills in Ireland across second and third level education can produce highly skilled graduates to fill the ample jobs in the ICT sector. Despite the progress being made, this will not be instant.

“In the meantime a technology visa should be introduced to allow highly skilled workers from abroad to educate and upskill our workforce by living and working in Ireland.

“This visa would provide the talent that technology companies in Ireland are crying out for and would create jobs rather than displace them. It would have an extremely positive knock-on effect on the economy.

“This is not just an Irish problem, there is a global shortage of highly skilled ICT workers with other countries like the US and Germany being forced to look abroad for talent.

“I am pleased the Minister is making progress in this issue and I intend to continue applying pressure on the department to ensure a technology visa is implemented.”