Hotels increase demand for foreign workers
Monday August 23 2010
HOTELS, restaurants and other service industries are increasing demand for foreign workers, latest figures show.
Fresh statistics to July 2010 show a noticeable increase in the number of applications for foreign work permits in the hotel, catering and restaurant sectors. The latest figures show Beshoffs, Blooms Hotel and Brownes Hotel, in Dublin among those applying for fresh work permits.
In many cases, premises are also seeking to renew existing work permits.
In June, catering and service industry businesses applied for 684 new or existing work permits, compared with just 264 in the same period of 2009.
In terms of new permit requests there were 290, while last year in the same month only 105 were made.
The demand for work permits could have two meanings for the industries involved. One is that foreign labour tends to be cheaper. Under this scenario foreign workers may be replacing domestic workers who have been made redundant.
However it is also possible the restaurant and hotel trade is starting to bottom out in some areas and the demand for labour is rebounding.
- Emmet Oliver
Irish Independent
