Ireland Announces 4 Conditions for Adding More Jobs to Its Critical Skills Occupation List

• Ireland's government manages its labour market through two key lists that determine which foreign workers can obtain employment permits
• The Critical Skills Occupations List uses four specific criteria to decide which roles qualify for inclusion or removal during periodic reviews
• The review process draws on research from dedicated labour market bodies, with a 2025 report already published alongside an earlier 2023 review

Ireland has outlined four conditions that must be met before it can add any occupation to its Critical Skills Occupations List (CSOL), a designation that opens the door to employment permits for workers from outside the European Economic Area.

The Irish government manages its labour market through two parallel frameworks: the Critical Skills Occupations List, which identifies high-demand roles, and the Ineligible Occupations List (IOL), which flags positions that are not open to employment permit applications. Both lists are reviewed periodically to reflect shifts in the domestic jobs market.

Four criteria for critical skills occupations list

According to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, an occupation must satisfy four conditions to be considered for inclusion on the CSOL. These are:

1. Evidence of a genuine labour shortage in Ireland;

2. Confirmation that the role offers meaningful development opportunities;

3. Demonstration of a real skills gap that cannot be addressed locally;

4. Support from relevant government policy.

Any occupation that fails to meet these standards would not qualify for the critical skills designation, regardless of employer demand.

How the review process works

The review process is informed by research from two specialist bodies: the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) and the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) at SOLAS, Ireland's further education and training authority. Their findings feed into the government's assessment of which occupations to add, retain, or remove from either list.

Ireland published its most recent occupations list review report in 2025, following an earlier review completed in 2023. The government has also allowed interested parties to register for updates ahead of future reviews, signalling that the process remains open to ongoing public and industry input.

Because Ireland is part of the broader EEA labour market, the lists are designed to ensure that employment permits are issued only where a demonstrable need cannot be met by the existing EEA workforce.

In a similar report, Legit.ng published that Ireland published the full list of occupations eligible for critical skills employment permit.

UK: Jobs qualified for skilled worker visas

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the UK published an immigration salary list naming 25 jobs that may qualify foreign workers for Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visas at lower salary thresholds.

But not everyone can use the reduced rates: eligibility depends on the job and visa history, with some roles limited to Scotland and others carrying extra conditions.