THE number of work permits issued to non-European Union citizens last month was down by 75% compared with September 2007.

New figures from the Department of Enterprise reveal that the number of skilled foreign workers coming to Ireland from outside the EU has decreased dramatically. From July to September 2,879 permits were issued, compared with 9,014 in the same period last year. Only 648 permits were issued last month, compared with 2,342 in September 2007.

James Wickham, director of the Employment Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin said the figures were a warning to Irish employers not to take the availability of skilled overseas workers for granted: “A small economy such as Ireland’s can never meet its own demand for skilled labourers.”

The decrease is partly due to a sharp fall in the number of workers seeking to have their permits renewed.

New figures released by Fas also confirm the extent of the collapse in the construction industry. The number of workers completing safe pass courses in 2008 is expected to be half that of last year.

A safe pass card, given after completion of a one-day course, is mandatory for construction workers. By the end of August 63,435 people had completed the course so far this year. The total for 2008 is projected to be 75,000, the lowest since the course was introduced in 2002.

According to the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), 58,100 people under 25 were employed in construction midway through 2007. By the second quarter of 2008 this had fallen to 44,600.

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