Finding a Job in Ireland

The job market, in-demand fields, and how hiring works

Ireland's labour market is shaped by foreign direct investment. Technology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, financial services and shared services concentrate in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, and these employers are used to hiring and sponsoring internationally. Outside that sector the market is smaller and less accustomed to employment permits, and the ineligible occupations list keeps many roles closed regardless of employer willingness.

Where the hiring is

The largest concentration of internationally minded employers is in Dublin, with substantial clusters in Cork for pharmaceuticals and technology, Galway for medical devices, and Limerick for manufacturing and shared services. These employers usually have established processes for employment permits and relocation.

Public sector and smaller domestic employers hire far less frequently from outside the EEA, partly because the labour market needs test is administratively demanding and partly through lack of familiarity with the process.

Healthcare is a special case. The health service recruits internationally at scale, particularly nurses and doctors, and professional registration with the relevant regulator is the gating step rather than the employment permit.

How to read the occupation lists

• The critical skills occupations list defines the roles that qualify for the fastest permit, with the lower salary threshold and immediate family reunification.
• The ineligible occupations list defines roles for which no employment permit will be granted at all, however willing the employer.
• Anything on neither list can in principle be the subject of a General Employment Permit, subject to the salary floor and the labour market needs test.
• Both lists are reviewed periodically and occupations move between them, so a role that was ineligible two years ago may not be now, and the reverse also happens.
• Regulated professions — medicine, nursing, teaching, law, architecture, accountancy — require registration with an Irish regulator independently of any immigration question.

Practical mechanics of being hired

Irish CVs run to about two pages, without a photograph, date of birth or marital status. Referees are commonly listed or offered on request, and Irish employers place real weight on references from previous employers.

A PPS number is required for payroll and for registering with Revenue; without it emergency tax is applied and take-home pay is temporarily much lower. Applying for it is one of the first tasks on arrival.

Employers hiring a non-EEA national must satisfy a rule limiting the proportion of non-EEA staff in the workforce, which occasionally blocks a hire at small companies even where the role itself qualifies.

Realistic expectations

In shortage occupations, and particularly in technology and life sciences, employers actively recruit abroad and the process is well trodden. In generalist office roles the picture is very different: an employer must be willing to run a labour market needs test and pay the permit fee, and most will prefer a candidate who does not require one.

Securing an offer before arrival is therefore the normal sequence, rather than arriving to look. The main exceptions are graduates on Stamp 1G, spouses on Stamp 1G, and people who already hold Stamp 4.

Official sources

• Jobs Ireland
• Employment permits — eligibility and occupation lists
• Revenue — starting work in Ireland

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.

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