A new online service for users of the employment permits system that makes it easier for applicant to check the status of applications has gone live.

The service, details of which were first announced last autumn, also gives an indication of how much time users can expect before a decision for applications is confirmed.

According to new figures, the total number of employment permits issued in 2015 increased 32 per cent versus the previous year. Some 34 per cent of all permits granted went to ICT professionals, with the number of successful applications up 33 per cent on 2014.

A recent report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which was published in late November, showed Ireland was ahead of most EU Member States in terms of linking labour market intelligence to migration policy.

The study found that the Irish work permits system is performing well in terms of responding to both skills shortages and surpluses. It attributed this to the fact that the process in place to link research on the availability of skills to policy-making has become more formalised in recent years.

Changes to regulations that make it easier for individuals from overseas to secure work visas were introduced last September under the Employment Permits (Amendment) Act. The legislation allowed for an expansion of the occupations eligible for employment permits in Ireland to include telecommunications engineers, IT engineers and others. It also made a number of occupations ineligible for permits.