Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment announced 32 changes to employment-permit occupations on 28 May 2026, including removing nine jobs from the Ineligible List of Occupations so employers can seek a General Employment Permit for them.
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke and Minister of State Alan Dillon announced the package after a review that began in summer 2025. Burke said the changes would take effect immediately.
“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.”
Burke also said the system would retain minimum pay thresholds, quota controls and standard permit conditions. The department lists the changes as effective from an earlier date, 13 May 2026.
The nine newly eligible jobs span health care, construction and manufacturing
The nine occupations cover roles in health care, construction, printing and industrial production. Five are construction jobs, Burke said.
The SOC codes group several of the construction trades together. Here is the full list:
| SOC code | Occupation or occupations |
|---|---|
| 3217 | Pharmaceutical Technicians (healthcare specific) |
| 3218 | Dental Hygienist |
| 5319 | Plastic Lining Technicians; Steel Fixers; Fencing Operators / Erectors; Curtain Wallers |
| 5422 | Printers |
| 8137 | Industrial Machine Knitter |
| 8229 | Concrete Pump Operator |
The department’s published ineligible occupations list sets out which jobs cannot ordinarily qualify for employment permits. It describes ineligible occupations as jobs where evidence suggests Irish and EEA workers are available to fill vacancies.
Eligibility does not remove pay floors or labour-market checks
Removing a job from the list does not guarantee a permit. Employers must generally show they could not find a suitable Irish or EEA candidate by completing a Labour Market Needs Test, where that test applies.
The minimum annual pay for most General Employment Permits is €36,605. A lower threshold of €32,691 a year, or at least €16.12 an hour, applies to specified jobs including health care assistants, home support workers, horticulture workers and meat processor operatives. Meat deboners have a €36,605 annual threshold, equivalent to €18.05 an hour on a 39-hour week.
The higher salary rules also apply to the Critical Skills Employment Permit. Since 1 March 2026, its minimum is €40,904 for a worker with a degree or €68,911 without one.
Quota applications have an additional timing and testing requirement. Employers seeking to use a new or extended quota must complete a Labour Market Needs Test when required, and the earliest date to submit those applications was June 10, 2026.
The wider package added six critical-skills roles and adjusted quotas
The 32 changes also expanded the Critical Skills Occupations List. Six additions were Agronomist, Construction Planner/Scheduler, Community Eye Care, Intellectual Property Professionals, Geospatial Surveyor and Riggers within the Games Industry. Geospatial Surveyor also covers Land Surveyor and Geomatics Surveyor.
Two further occupations, Fish Filleter and Seafood Operative, received newly established quotas after being removed from the ineligible list. The package renewed quotas for 15 roles that already qualify for permits.
Quota allocations include 50 permits for fish filleters and 100 for seafood operatives. The stated allocations also include 1,000 for motor mechanics and 1,495 for care workers.
Burke said the new construction occupations, including Construction Planner/Scheduler and Geospatial Surveyor, could support housing and infrastructure priorities under the National Development Plan. The changes also include a safeguard for lower-skilled jobs: Dillon said quotas would remain so migration supports local training, apprenticeships and upskilling rather than replacing them.
The review weighed labour shortages against workforce supply and public services
Dillon described the package as part of a coordinated approach to economic migration and skills shortages.
“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.”
A public consultation and evaluation fed into the review. The Interdepartmental Group on Economic Migration Policy, established after the 2018 Review of Economic Migration Policy, considers skills shortages, workforce supply and the capacity of services such as housing, health, education and transport.
The group includes representatives from the departments responsible for housing, health, education and youth, social protection, further and higher education, research, innovation and science, and justice, home affairs and migration. Officials formally review occupation and quota decisions with relevant departments.
A separate proposal could change the 50:50 rule in the Employment Permits Act 2024. The rule requires at least 50 percent of an employer’s workforce to be Irish, EEA, UK or Swiss nationals for the employer to qualify for permits.
The Government has approved preparations for possible amendments that could allow flexibility in parts of health and social care, particularly for Healthcare Assistants, Nursing Homes, Disability Care Services and Homecare providers. No amendment had been enacted as of June 2026, so the proposed flexibility is not part of the changes announced in May.
The department’s list carries a May effective date
The department’s list is set out under Schedule 4 of the Regulations and says it took effect on 13 May 2026, when SI 213 of 2026 came into effect. The package announcement date was 28 May 2026.
The previous version of the list dated from 20 December 2023, when SI 680 of 2023 came into effect.
