The low take-up of a new fast-track immigrant visa scheme aimed at tackling labour shortages has been criticised by the employers' organisation, IBEC, as disappointing.
The visa programme was started this year to support the Government's policy of seeking 200,000 workers over the next six years to meet targets set in the National Development Plan.
But within the first eight weeks of its start, only 243 people from 11 countries have been granted visas, according to provisional Government figures.
Only nurses, information technology and construction professionals can apply for the accelerated working visas which last for two years and are renewable. Applicants must be from outside the European Economic Area, which comprises the EU member-states and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The scheme was announced last March by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to plug particular gaps in the three high-skill sectors. Under the scheme, non-EEA nationals who have a job offer from an employer in Ireland in one of the designated sectors may be given a working visa by an Irish embassy or consulate.
The working-visa scheme is a faster alternative to the older work-permit procedure under which 8,952 non-EEA nationals from more than 100 countries have been allowed work in the State this year to date. People seeking work outside the three specified categories can still come to the State to work under the old permits system.
No quota has been set for the working-visa scheme, but officials expected the numbers coming in under it to be a little more than 6,000 per year.
However, provisional figures issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday show that only 243 people have been granted working visas in the scheme's first two months, June and July.
These include 142 Filipina registered nurses, 91 IT professionals from countries including India and Yugoslavia, seven IT technicians including four Russians, two architects from India and Russia and one town planner from Slovakia.
A Department spokesman said the statistics were not complete as not all Irish missions abroad had returned the figures for the number of visas issued.
IBEC, the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, said the working-visa take-up was disappointing. Its director of social policy, Mr Brendan Butler, said a major national and international information campaign was need ed to advise prospective employees and employers of the new accelerated arrangements.
"The figures are not encouraging, and the big reason is lack of information on the part of employers and prospective employees abroad," he said.
"The three categories of professionals are too narrow. It hasn't opened the door to any significant extent. It shouldn't just apply to professionals. We need to have semi-skilled and unskilled workers as well."
Mr Butler said the scheme should also be extended to non-professionals in the construction and hotel and catering sectors.
The extension to include workers in other sectors has not been ruled out by Ms Harney. A spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said an advisory group has been set up to review the scheme, including representatives of the social partners, Government Departments and deve lopment agencies. "The group will examine the statistics that are now available and follow up on that," she added.
The 200,000 workers the Government is seeking over the next six years will be returning Irish people and EU workers as well as non-EEA nationals.