New Chef work permits announcement welcomed by Restaurants Association of Ireland

“Massive step forward towards solving Chef skill shortage in hospitality”

The Restaurants Association of Ireland have welcomed the announcement today from Heather Humphreys, T.D., Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, regarding chef work permits in Ireland.

The new announcement will see all chef grades now eligible for work permits, with Minister Humphreys removing Commis Chefs from the ineligible list for work permits. The Minister is also removing the quota of 610 chef permits and removing the cap of two chefs per establishment. All changes come into effect from 1st January 2020.

Adrian Cummins, CEO, Restaurants Association of Ireland, said:

“The Restaurants Association of Ireland is delighted that after months of lobbying, Minister Humphreys has heard our requests and has delivered this good bit of news to the industry before Christmas.

Hopefully, these new work permits will help to alleviate staff shortages currently being experienced by the industry. This will be of benefit to all sectors in the hospitality industry and will facilitate combating the chef shortage Ireland is now experiencing.

The lack of chef work permits available has been a huge cause of concern for our members over the past few months, and we are relieved to hear this announcement this morning.”

The hospitality industry in Ireland directly employs 152,000 people and employment in tourism is projected to be 310,000 by 2025.