Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 15th May, my colleague, Minister for Justice McEntee, and I announced that Government approval had been secured for rolling out a single permit to both work and live in Ireland. Implementing a single permit will eventually allow Ireland to opt into the EU’s Single Permit Directive.

The Government also approved the Report of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on establishing a Single Application Procedure and Common Set of Rights for Third Country Workers. Its recommendations are to develop a single application procedure for a combined work and residence permit, while each Department retains its policy and operational responsibility for economic migration and immigration; and to commence preparations for opting-in to the Single Permit Directive.

The adoption of the Single Permit is expected to be completed over the course of the next three years. A programme management team has now been established chaired by the Department of Justice and my Department to commence implementation of the Single Permit. The Programme Management Team is tasked with:

• Implementing the recommendations of the report.
• Action the short, medium, and long-term steps as set out in that implementation plan.
• Prepare to opt-in to the Single Permit Directive once the medium term commitments are fulfilled, subject to Government Decision at that time.

The programme is expected to be delivered on a phased basis and will aim to streamline existing processes as a new application platform is developed with customer benefits in the shorter term, such as developing a pathway for a method of payment and reduced information collection duplication.