Employment « Thurles Information

Irish Government To Increase Competitiveness By Attracting Skills.

Ireland can now enable spouses and partners of employment permit holders, already in the State, to work to fill vital gaps in the Irish workforce, such as in healthcare and construction.
The Government will begin to roll out a single permit to both work and live in Ireland, creating a smoother, more efficient system for applicants; thereby increasing Ireland’s attractiveness for the skills and talent the economy needs.
Ireland will work towards opting-in to the EU Single Permit Directive as a key part of the EU Skills and Talent Package, working with EU partners.

The Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mr Peter Burke TD, yesterday (Wednesday May 15th), announced that they have secured Government agreement for a number of key actions to increase the competitiveness of Ireland in attracting the skills and talent the Irish economy requires.

This will enable all eligible spouses and partners of employment permit holders to work, if they are already in the State and are granted permission to live in Ireland with their family member. Implementing a single permit will eventually allow Ireland to opt into the EU’s Single Permit Directive.

Both of these new measures should significantly enhance Ireland’s ability to compete internationally to attract talent, addressing skills shortages in the Irish economy, thus promoting economic growth.

Presently, applicants must apply to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for a work permit, before then applying to the Department of Justice to obtain a visa. By introducing one single permission/application, Ireland can reduce the cost and complexity for both the employer and applicant, thus ensuring that Ireland can respond more effectively and quickly to meet the skills needs of the economy.

Skills gaps affect all EU Member States, including Ireland. All EU Member States, except Ireland and Denmark, already operate a single permit for employment and residence. Other key partners, such as the UK and the US, also operate single application procedures and single permits. The currently operated process requiring separate applications, creates greater bureaucracy, risking placing Ireland at a competitive disadvantage in attracting skills and talent to the Irish economy.

By opting in to the Single Permit Directive, the Government will remove barriers in attracting key skills into Ireland, in important sectors such as healthcare and construction and reduce the cost and complexity of the current system.

Many spouses are skilled workers who have left significant jobs and employment oppertunities, in order to join their families within the Irish State, and who wish to continue their careers here in Ireland.

Currently, the ability to work without a permit was only provided to spouses and partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders. This has now been extended to include General Employment Permit holders and Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit holders who are already in the State and who have been granted permission to live in Ireland with their family member.
Current and future permit holders, whose spouses or partners are not in the State, will still need to apply for family reunification after 12 months

This change will, it is hoped, have an immediate positive impact for the economy and for spouses and partners who wish to work in Ireland, assisting them to contribute to the economy through taxation, to further integrate and to provide for their families.

New EU Regulation For Tipperary’s Self-Catering Sector.

The Irish Self-Catering Federation (ISCF), the largest representative body for self-catering properties in Ireland, says tomorrow’s anticipated signing of the EU’s Regulation on short-term rental data collection and sharing in Brussels will have positive, long-term consequences for the sector in Tipperary.

Once signed and after official publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, EU Member States will have a 24-month period to establish the mechanisms for data exchanges, which are already being prepared with the support of the Commission.

**Ms Máire ní Mhurchú, *(Chair of the ISCF)* speaking at a recent Tourism Networking event in March last 2024.**

By setting a data collection and sharing framework for the EU Member States, the EU Regulation harmonises registration requirements for short term lets when introduced by national authorities, clarify rules to ensure registration numbers are displayed and checked on online booking platforms, and streamlines data sharing between online platforms and public authorities.

Ms Máire ní Mhurchú, (Chairperson of the ISCF), who has travelled to the European Parliament for the signing process, says the EU Regulation will quantify the amount of available self-catering in Tipperary and will raise and maintain standards across the industry.

Ms ní Mhurchú says the move will also strengthen the sustainability of the sector by highlighting the economic important role played by small family-run businesses in rural communities.

The ISCF CEO is warning, however, that the implementation of the STTL Register must be accompanied by the introduction of clear planning guidelines around the development of glamping and other self-catering businesses, the absence of which she says is exacerbating the ongoing critical shortage of available bed nights in Ireland.

“The Register, adapted to the standards of the EU Regulation, will help to support the further development of the self-catering sector as making rural communities economically viable is core EU principle,” she explained. “For far too long in Ireland, hotel accommodation has been legislated for and promoted which is of little benefit to rural communities as such developments are only regarded as economically viable for large urban centres like Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick and Dublin as evidenced in the Saville and Crowe reports into the domestic tourism and hospitality market.”

She continued, “We also welcome the appointment of Fáilte Ireland as the statutory authority with responsibility for implementing the Register. This move will place the self-catering sector on a par with other tourism organisations, such as the Irish Hotels Federation and Camping Ireland.”

Commenting on the requirement for updated planning legislation for the development of short-term tourist lettings in Ireland, Ms. ní Mhurchú said, “The planning issues for short term rentals needs to be urgently reviewed. Currently, self-catering accommodation is looked on as housing units rather than economic value units.”

Ms Ní Mhurchú warned that the supplementary income of many families operating within the sector will be significantly impacted unless full clarification is issued regarding the planning permission process ahead of the implementation of the STTL Register.

“We are calling on Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to sit down with the ISCF to ensure no self-catering businesses, many of which are small family rural tourism businesses, are lost. Issues with planning need to be sorted first, with a derogation for all existing STTL businesses. Clear guidelines for planners and owners are essential before the Register is introduced”, she concluded.

166 New Members Join An Garda Síochána.

Yesterday morning, 166 new members joined the Irish Garda Síochána police force.

Intake No 233, having commenced their training on July 31st, 2023, have now completed their Phase 1, Stage 3 training at the Garda Training College, situated in Templemore, Co. Tipperary, and have taken their Oath.

Attestation Oath
“I hereby solemnly and sincerely declare before God [Words “before God” may be omitted from the declaration at the request of the declarant] that:-
* I will faithfully discharge the duties of a member of the Garda Síochána with fairness, integrity, regard for human rights, diligence and impartiality, upholding the Constitution and the laws and according equal respect to all people.
* While I continue to be a member, I will, to the best of my skill and knowledge, discharge all my duties according to law.
* I do not belong to, and will not while I remain a member form, belong to or subscribe to, any political party or secret society whatsoever”.

The Garda “Attestation Oath”, above, is sworn by all members of An Garda Siochana and the Garda Reserve.

Congratulations to all.

Mary Immaculate College Thurles – Student Experience Day Sat. April 13th.

The Thurles Mary Immaculate College (MIC) situated on Cathedral Street, in the town, [formerly St. Patrick’s College], will hold a ‘Student Experience Day’ on Saturday April 13th 2024, from 9.30am-2.30pm.

Can’t attend on that day! Then a similar MIC ‘Limerick Student Experience Day‘, will also take place on Thursday May 2nd 2024, from 10:00am-1:00pm.

Not to be missed; both these MIC Student Experience Days, being held this coming April and May, will offer a taste of what it is like to be a student on both of the current Mary Immaculate College campuses, here first in Thurles and later in Limerick; offering prospective students a chance to experience at first hand a sense of what it is like to be an MIC student.

The MIC Thurles Student Experience Day deserves an entry in every prospective student’s diary, for those interested in a future career in post-primary teacher.
Prospective students will get a chance to experience lectures in the subjects being offered at MIC Thurles, including Home Economics, Mathematics, Gaeilge, Accounting, Business Studies and Religious Studies.
A panel discussion together with question and answer sessions will take place, with current college students sharing their experiences of student life at the Thurles College.

The event will also include student-led campus tours, with lecturers on-hand to answer any questions attendees might have about MIC’s post-primary teaching degrees.

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From everyone here at Thurles.info we would like to wish mothers, everywhere, a very Happy Mother’s Day. We would be lost without you, so take a break if you can and enjoy some well deserved downtime.

Know This – We Love Everyone Of You.