219. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of Critical Skills Employment Permits granted in each of the past five years and to date in 2026, by occupation, standard occupational classification (SOC) code and nationality; and the percentage of the total represented by each occupational category, in tabular form. [66693/26]

Ireland operates a managed employment permits system designed to maximise the benefits of economic migration while minimising disruption to the Irish labour market. The system facilitates the recruitment of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to address identified skills and labour shortages and support enterprise development, while ensuring that opportunities for suitably qualified Irish and EEA workers are protected. Employment permits are granted in accordance with the Employment Permits Act 2024 and associated Regulations and are only issued where the relevant statutory criteria and legislative requirements are met.

The Critical Skills Employment Permit is intended to attract highly skilled workers in occupations experiencing skills shortages identified as strategically important to the economy.

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables below. Table 1 provides the number of Critical Skills Employment Permits issued during the period 2021 to date in 2026, by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code and occupation, together with the percentage share represented by each SOC code. Table 2 provides the corresponding breakdown by nationality.

Table 1 and 2