Ireland is currently in need of a large number of foreign workers, especially in the construction sector, similar to several other countries.
However, the long waiting times to obtain a visa are discouraging non-EU workers and pushing them to reach other countries instead, Schengen.News reports.
As the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) revealed, non-EU workers are having to wait for up to four months in order to receive a response to their application.
Such a long waiting period, according to CIF director Sean Downey, is putting many potential workers off from reaching Ireland.
By having to wait four months to get a visa to work here, it is putting a lot of potential workers off coming to Ireland from such places as South Africa.
Long Waiting Times for Visas Impacting Housing Units Being Built
Taking into account that Ireland is in no position to lose construction workers, Downey said that the Foreign Affairs Department needs to take measures as soon as possible to tackle the prolonged visa process.
At the same time, Downey criticised the authorities by saying that there does not seem to be a synchronised communication between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment regarding work permit guidance, Irish Independent explains.
He said that the long waiting times for visas are impacting the housing units being built, as required for this barrier to be resolved promptly.
The Department of Trade held a very successful recruitment campaign there last year to encourage more skilled construction people to come here, yet Foreign Affairs does not seem to be liaising with them. This obviously, in return, is impacting housing units being built.
577 Construction Work Permits Approved in First Quarter of 2025
While foreign workers continue to face visa delays, the authorities have revealed that a large number of work permits have been issued in the first quarter of 2025.
Data show that since the beginning of this year until the end of March, the Irish authorities have granted a total of 577 construction work permits.
This is significantly higher compared to the same period in 2024, when Ireland granted only 262 construction work permits for non-EU nationals. As for 2024 as a whole, data show that Ireland issued 1,523 construction work permits in total.
Most recent figures from the Labour Force Survey disclose that the number of foreigners employed in construction stands at 171,000 however, the country needs tens of thousands more in order to be able to meet the housing and retrofitting targets for 2030.