My question concerns the impact of the return of so many non-nationals to their own countries. There is a crisis in every industry now. Pigs cannot be slaughtered. There are problems in farming, whether they relate to cows, lambs or agricultural contractors. The hospitality industry is also impacted. Across the board, employees cannot be sourced. They are not there to be got. Many places have closed half time because they do not have the staff, many of whom have returned to their own countries. The Department is too slow in granting work permits to people. Businesspeople are sourcing employees abroad, but it is not possible to get them in. The October applications list is being worked on now. Something seismic must be done to get people who want to come and work here into the country. We must get our Irish people back to work as well. The void exists and it is crippling businesses. It will have a great impact on the economy, as well as on people's lives.

The Government needs to act on this to get people back into the workplace and get businesses back up and running.

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. It is something we are all experiencing and all of us are being contacted by employers who are struggling to recruit staff as well as to bring staff in from abroad. We have an internal market within the EU of approximately 450 million people. Even within such a large pool, it is proving very difficult to attract people with the requisite skills into Ireland. We acknowledge that the turnaround times for employment permits are too long, and the Tánaiste and his officials are working on this with a view to improving them. It is the case that if an employment permit is urgently needed, a request to have a specific application expedited can be made. It will be considered in exceptional cases and must be accompanied by a compelling business case that sets out the individual circumstances involved. The number of such applications has increased significantly. Relative to 2019, applications are up by 47%. It is part of the rebound we are seeing after Covid.