(IRELAND) Ireland and the Cayman Islands, two very different island economies on opposite sides of the Atlantic, are each dealing with roughly 40,000 temporary work permits a year. This puts quiet but steady pressure on their immigration systems and raises questions about how small labour markets handle global demand for foreign workers.
Ireland: volume, origins and sectors
Official figures for 2024 show the state granted approximately 39,000 work permits out of 42,910 applications, an approval rate of 91.8%. On average, close to 3,000 permits a month were issued, with a spike to 4,000 in July 2024, as employers rushed to secure staff for busy summer and early autumn periods. While the numbers fall just short of the round figure of 40,000, they underline how central migrant workers have become to key sectors of the Irish economy.
Most permits go to non-EU nationals (EU citizens are free to work in Ireland). The largest nationality groups were:
- Indian nationals: 13,566 permits
- Brazilians: 4,553 permits
- Filipinos: 4,049 permits
Those three nationalities alone made up well over half of all successful applicants, revealing clear patterns in where Irish employers look for skills and labour.
Sector breakdown
The sector distribution highlights the variety of roles filled by foreign workers:
| Sector | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare and social work | 12,501 | 31.7% |
| Information and communication (tech, etc.) | 6,788 | 17.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3,625 | 9.2% |
These figures show migrant workers support both high-skilled tech roles and physically demanding jobs in agriculture, care and coastal communities.
What the high approval rate implies
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, Ireland’s approval rate of more than nine in ten applications stands out compared with many other destinations. The high success rate suggests:
- Employers and applicants generally meet official criteria before applying.
- The system is geared toward filling known shortages rather than excluding applicants.
The government stresses the employment permit programme is designed to support, not replace, the local labour market. Occupations are grouped into critical and ineligible lists, and permits are mainly available where employers can show they cannot find people in Ireland or the wider European Economic Area.
Official guidance and the different permit types and conditions are available on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment website here.
For many families in India, Brazil and the Philippines, these policy details translate into a simpler reality: a job offer in Ireland can mean a steady income, support for relatives back home, and sometimes a first step toward long-term residence.
Cayman Islands: concentrated flows and processing bottlenecks
The Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory with a much smaller resident population, also reports processing up to 40,000 temporary work permit applications per year, according to Immigration Minister Michael Myles. Numerically this places it in the same range as Ireland, but the per-capita impact is much larger, making the islands one of the region’s most concentrated recipients of foreign labour.
This high volume has created delays in processing full work permits (longer-term authorisations). When officials are tied up managing tens of thousands of temporary permits, more complex cases can wait in line.
Consequences include:
- Employer uncertainty about whether valued staff can remain on the island
- Workers facing months of anxiety over legal status and future employment
- Potential sudden uprooting of workers and their families
In the Cayman Islands, the flow is driven by seasonal tourism peaks, large construction projects, and the staffing needs of the territory’s financial services sector.
Shared drivers and contrasting scales
Officials in both jurisdictions say demand reflects real economic needs.
- In Ireland, drivers include multinational tech companies, an ageing population needing care workers, and shortages in nursing, medicine and social care.
- In the Cayman Islands, drivers are tourism, construction, and financial services back-office work.
Comparative context:
- In the United States, temporary work permits under programmes such as H‑1B, H‑2A, and H‑2B run into the hundreds of thousands each year.
- In Canada, immigration authorities recently finalized over 1 million work permit applications (including extensions) in a single year.
Against that backdrop, Ireland and the Cayman Islands may look small by absolute numbers, but for their populations and administrative capacity, processing around 40,000 temporary permits annually is a major operational task.
Implications for migrants and policy debates
For migrants choosing between destinations, Ireland’s 91.8% approval rate and clear sector focus can be reassuring, particularly compared with systems that use lotteries or strict caps.
However, challenges remain:
- In Ireland: high housing costs and pressure on public services—concerns often raised by trade unions and migrant groups.
- In the Cayman Islands: critics argue heavy reliance on temporary permits may leave workers with insufficient security and limited paths to longer-term status.
Policy discussions in both places are focusing on how to keep processing systems moving without losing control over admissions and terms. Common proposals include:
- Digitised applications and automation
- Clearer employer guidance
- Better staffing and resourcing inside immigration departments
- More transparent publication of data (nationality/sector breakdowns)
Regular publication of figures such as Ireland’s breakdown by nationality and sector can help residents see where workers are coming from and what roles they fill, easing social tension and rumours.
Conclusion
Ireland’s 2024 data gives a detailed snapshot of a system heavily reliant on migrant labour, while the Cayman Islands’ annual ceiling points to a system close to capacity. Neither government shows signs of stepping back from the use of temporary foreign labour.
Instead, the trend suggests more fine-tuning:
- Adjusting which jobs qualify
- Speeding up decisions where possible
- Balancing business needs with social concerns
For the tens of thousands who receive these permits each year, decisions made in Dublin and George Town shape not only economic statistics, but the course of their lives and those of their families across the world.
Ireland and the Cayman Islands each handle around 40,000 temporary work permit applications annually. In 2024 Ireland approved roughly 39,000 permits from 42,910 applications, a 91.8% approval rate, largely for healthcare, information and communication, and agriculture, with major recipient nationalities from India, Brazil and the Philippines. The Cayman Islands processes a similar annual volume but experiences heavier per-capita strain and delays that affect full permit decisions. Both governments consider digitisation, clearer guidance and more resources to balance labour needs with administrative capacity.
