Has the 50:50 rule changed?
The 50:50 rule has not changed. Not for nursing homes, not for home care, not for disability services.
What has changed is the direction of travel. The Government has approved preparations to amend the rule, and the Department's own paperwork says the change is aimed mainly at health and social care. A General Scheme of a Bill has been drafted. The Department said it would go to Government for approval by the end of September 2026.
None of that is law yet. If you lodge a permit application this week, DETE assesses it under the rule as it stands. This article sets out what is proposed, what is still in force, and what a care employer should do in the meantime.
The rule as it stands today
Under section 22(1) of the Employment Permits Act 2024, an employment permit shall not be granted unless, on the date the application was made, 50 per cent or more of the employer's employees are "nationals of one or more Member States of the EEA, nationals of the Swiss Confederation, citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or a combination" of those.
In practice, for a care employer:
- Count every employee, whatever their role or terms of employment. That means the whole workforce, not only the care staff.
- UK citizens count on your side of the ratio. The 2024 Act names them. Some older guidance, including pages on DETE's own website, still says "EEA nationals" only. Count your UK staff anyway.
- The ratio is taken on the date you submit. Not when DETE processes the file, and not when the worker arrives.
There are two statutory exceptions, both narrow. The first is the sole-employee situation under section 22(3): the employer has no employees on the day of application and the overseas worker will be the only one. The second, under section 22(2), is for certain Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland client companies holding a formal letter of support. Business size on its own is never an exemption.
Our full guide to the 50:50 rule works through the calculation with examples.
What has been proposed
Four official documents set out where the proposal stands. Each one is linked below. Press coverage has run ahead of this record, so we have stuck to what the Department itself has said.
28 May 2026: Government approves the policy. In a Department press release, the Government "approved a proposal by Minister Burke to begin preparations to amend the Employment Permits Act 2024" with regard to the 50:50 rule. The aim was to implement the findings of an internal review of the rule's impact on health and social care. The Department wrote that "in the case of Healthcare Assistants, in Nursing Homes, Disability Care, and Homecare flexibility within the 50:50 rule is required."
16 June 2026: the review behind it. In a written Dáil answer, the Department said its review found that "Ireland operates among the strictest interpretations of Union Preference at company level", and that Government approval had been granted to prepare the General Scheme.
The SME Test: who it is for. The Department's published SME Test on the proposed amendments to section 22 says the proposals "are primarily aimed at benefitting enterprises in the health and social work sector", which it describes as typically including health care assistants, nurses, doctors and home carers. It also expects the change to help rural SMEs, which have smaller local labour pools.
22 September 2026: a General Scheme is drafted. In a written Dáil answer, the Department said it had drafted the General Scheme of the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, which will amend the 2024 Act to implement the 50:50 changes. It intended to bring the General Scheme to Government by the end of September.
Proposed, not passed. Correct as of 23 October 2026. The Oireachtas list of 2026 Government Bills does not include an Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. DETE's Latest Updates page has no notice on the 50:50 rule, and its General Employment Permit page still sets out the rule unchanged.
Where it is now in the legislative process
The Department's 22 September answer sets out what happens next. If the General Scheme is approved, officials work with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to draft the Bill "having regard to Government's Autumn 2026 Legislation Programme."
Only once the Bill is published and enacted does section 22 change. In the Department's own words, "the timing of any Bill's enactment, once drafted and published, is a matter for the Oireachtas."
So the honest answer to "when?" is that nobody can give a date yet. The 16 June answer said the same: it was "not possible at this stage to provide an estimate on the legislative processes and Oireachtas scheduling."
What we do not know yet
Until the Bill is published, these questions are open. We won't guess at them, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
- The new threshold or mechanism. Does the ratio drop to a lower figure, become a cap of some other kind, or get waived for qualifying employers?
- Exactly who qualifies. The Department named HCAs in nursing homes, disability care and home care. Whether that becomes a list of employer types, a list of occupations or something else depends on the drafting.
- Whether it is permanent. Will the change be open-ended or time-limited?
- What happens at renewal. How will permits granted under an eased rule be treated when they come up for renewal?
When DETE publishes the detail, we will update this article and say so at the top.
What has not changed
The Department's May announcement described the wider package as upholding safeguards such as minimum remuneration thresholds and quota management.
The salary threshold still has two limbs, and both bind. For a Health Care Assistant or Home Support Worker (SOC 6145), the minimum is €32,691 a year and €16.12 an hour (the annual figure assumes a 39-hour week). Support Worker is not on that reduced list. It sits on the standard band for all other eligible roles: €36,605 a year and €18.05 an hour. Meeting the annual figure is not enough if the hourly rate falls short.
A Labour Market Needs Test is still required in most cases. The vacancy must be advertised for 28 days on JobsIreland and EURES plus a second online platform before you apply.
What care employers should do now
The proposal is good news for the sector. It does not fill a rota this month. Here is how we advise care employers in the meantime.
- Run your ratio today. Count every employee, every site. Divide EEA, Swiss, UK and Irish staff by the total. It takes ten minutes and tells you which of the groups below you fall into.
- At 50% or above: do not wait. Apply under the current rules. A vacancy held open for legislation with no date is a vacancy that stays empty. Check your ratio again before each new application.
- Below 50%: plan both ways. Do not lodge an application below the line; it will be refused. Get your job descriptions, SOC codes and salary terms right now, so you can move quickly if the change commences.
- Borderline: watch your LMNT window. An application has to be lodged within 90 days of the JobsIreland and EURES notice first going up (120 days for academic and third-level employers). If one EEA leaver tips you under during the advert, restoring the ratio inside that window keeps the same LMNT valid.
We run the 50:50 check before anything else moves, and we will tell you plainly whether to apply now or wait.
Where does your care business stand? We'll check it with you.
Send us your headcount and the role you need filled. We'll run the 50:50 ratio, confirm the salary that applies, and tell you whether to apply now or prepare for the change. Free, no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
No. As of 23 October 2026, any permit application you lodge is assessed under section 22(1) of the Employment Permits Act 2024 as it stands, the same as for any other employer. The Government has approved preparations to ease the rule for health and social care, and a General Scheme of a Bill has been drafted, but the Oireachtas list of 2026 Government Bills does not include the Bill.
There is no date. In a written Dáil answer on 22 September 2026 the Department said the General Scheme would go to Government for approval by the end of September. If approved, officials then draft the Bill with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, and the Department says the timing of enactment is a matter for the Oireachtas.
The Department's May 2026 announcement named Healthcare Assistants in nursing homes, disability care and home care as the roles where flexibility is needed. Its SME Test says the proposals are aimed mainly at the health and social work sector. Exactly which employers or roles qualify will be set by the wording of the Bill.
Not if you meet the 50:50 rule today. The change has no confirmed date, and a vacancy that waits for legislation stays empty. If you are at 50% or above, apply under the current rules. If you are below 50%, talk to us now so you are ready either way.