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Irish work permits issued to non-EU citizens are at close to the same level as they were in 2010, according to statistics released by the Department of Enterprise, Jobs, and Innovation.
The number of work permit renewals has dropped significantly; A strong indication that the Irish economy is still not doing very well. Over the last few years there have been fewer new work permit holders and so fewer people who might need extensions. This together with the fact that some people may no longer be needed by their employers means fewer extensions. In additions some work permit holders have been in Ireland for longer than five years, after which a work permit renewal is no longer required.
Ireland's economy was called the "Celtic Tiger" of the European Union before the global financial crisis hit in 2008. Since then, Ireland has experienced sharp unemployment and rising emigration.
In 2003, over 47,000 work permits were issued. During 2010, only 7,714 were issued.
During the first four months of 2011, a total of 1,119 work permits were issued, with just under 700 renewals. During the same period in 2010, over 1,500 work permits were renewed.
The greatest demand for work permits is in the service industry. This includes hotels and restaurants and businesses in the catering and tourism industry.
