98. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the timeframe for non-working EEA nationals visas to be processed; the number of employment permits that have been awarded in counties Cavan and Monaghan and declined since March 2020 and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62130/22]

Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market.

The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market. EEA Nationals do not require an employment permit in order to work in the State.

The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that the processing times for Critical Skills and Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit applications is 1 week.

Processing times for General Employment Permit applications for Trusted Partners is 1 week, with Standard applications taking 2 weeks to process for applicants.

The aim is to maintain this high-performance level into the future.

Since March 2020, a total of 1,947 employment permits have been issued and 142 employment permit applications have been refused from counties Cavan and Monaghan.