Yes, you can hire horticulture workers from outside the EU. A horticulture worker is a named exception on DETE's Ineligible Occupations List, so the role can get a General Employment Permit. It qualifies at the reduced pay floor of €32,691 a year, and it sits inside a national quota of 971 permits counted from 13 May 2026.
Whether your own application succeeds comes down to two things: how the role is described, and whether the quota still has room on the day you apply.
Correct as of 6 November 2026. Quotas change during the year, and DETE has posted three filled-quota notices in 2026 alone. Get in touch and we will verify the current position for your specific role before you spend anything on the process.
Which horticulture roles qualify
DETE's Ineligible Occupations List is set out by numbered occupation codes, known as SOC codes. Two parts of it matter to a grower.
SOC 9119, other fishing and other general agriculture occupations, is on the list. Inside that code, DETE makes one exception: horticulture worker. That exception is your route.
SOC 5112, horticultural trades, is also on the list, and it has no exception. Neither does SOC 5113, gardeners and landscape gardeners. A job that reads as a skilled horticultural trade or a gardening post cannot get a General Employment Permit, however hard it is to fill.
So two jobs on the same holding can land on opposite sides of the line. A worker picking, trimming and packing mushrooms in a growing house is doing hands-on crop work. We would not put "gardener" or a skilled-trade title on the application, because those read as the codes above.
The title and the duties in your contract are what show DETE the job fits, so write them as the job actually is: planting, picking, grading, packing and crop care.
If you are unsure where a role falls, WhatsApp Monette before you write the advert. Getting the classification right costs nothing at this stage. Getting it wrong costs a refused application.
The reduced pay rate
Most General Employment Permits need a minimum annual pay of €36,605. Horticulture workers are one of the exceptions. DETE sets their floor at €32,691 a year, with a minimum hourly rate of €16.12. The same reduced rate applies to meat processor operatives, health care assistants and home support workers.
DETE works out the hourly figure over a 39-hour week. A contract for more hours still has to pay at least €16.12 for each of them, so the annual figure ends up above €32,691.
DETE counts two things towards the minimum: basic salary, and any health insurance you pay for the worker, as long as the insurer is on the Health Insurance Authority's register. Overtime, bonuses and allowances are not on that list, so they do not count.
The 971-permit quota
Horticulture work is one of the occupations capped by quota. S.I. 213/2026 replaced Schedule 5 of the Employment Permits Regulations and set a maximum of 971 permits for horticulture workers, counted from 13 May 2026.
The public signal comes after the fact. DETE posts its filled-quota notices on its latest updates page, and each one says that applications already submitted and waiting to be processed will be rejected.
It happens. On 4 November 2026, DETE posted that the quota for furniture makers and other craft woodworkers had been filled, and that applications awaiting processing would be rejected. As of 6 November 2026, DETE has posted no such notice for horticulture workers.
The quota counts permits granted, not applications started. If the pool runs out while your advert is up, you have lost the month.
Advertising, applying and timing
Before you apply, you run the Labour Market Needs Test, a job advert that has to come first: if no suitable person applies, you are free to apply for the permit. The vacancy goes up for at least 28 continuous days with the Department of Social Protection's Employment Services and EURES (the EU's jobs network), and on one other online platform for the same period. The permit application must then go in within 90 days of the first advert.
You also need to meet the 50:50 rule: at least half of your employees must be EEA nationals on the day you apply. A small holding hiring several people at once should count first.
The DETE fee for a new General Employment Permit is €1,000 for a permit of 6 to 24 months, or €500 for 6 months or less. If DETE refuses the application, 90% of the fee is refunded. You cannot deduct it from the worker's pay or recover it from them later.
DETE asks for an application at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date, and the 28-day advert has to run before you can apply.
What about the Seasonal Employment Permit?
The Employment Permits Act 2024 created a Seasonal Employment Permit for work of up to seven months in a calendar year. On paper it fits picking work, but so far it has run as a pilot. The 2025 pilot was open to soft fruit and vegetable growers, and two employers completed registration. They were granted 33 permits, and 23 workers arrived. DETE says it would be premature to launch the permit as a full scheme.
DETE has recommended a second pilot in horticulture for the 2027 season, pending confirmation of interest from the sector. Until that pilot opens, DETE names the General Employment Permit as the interim route for short-term labour needs.
What to settle before you advertise
Five checks, in this order:
- The title and duties describe hands-on horticulture work, not a trade or gardening post.
- Basic pay is at least €32,691 a year and €16.12 an hour, and higher if the contract runs past 39 hours.
- DETE's latest updates page carries no "filled" notice for horticulture workers on the day you start advertising.
- EEA nationals make up at least half of your employees on the day you apply.
- If you will house the workers, the accommodation is sorted before they travel. Accommodation was where the 2025 seasonal pilot ran into trouble.
What we can do is check the role, run the advertising and the permit application, and look for candidates with crop experience while the advert runs. If you're hiring for a mushroom farm, nursery or greenhouse, see our overseas farm worker service, or WhatsApp Monette and we will check your roles against the list before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, through a General Employment Permit, provided the job is a horticulture worker role. DETE's Ineligible Occupations List includes SOC 9119, other general agriculture occupations, but names horticulture worker as an exception to it. The title and duties in your contract need to describe that hands-on crop work. The pay floor is €32,691 a year (€16.12 an hour), and the role sits inside a quota of 971 permits counted from 13 May 2026.
No. DETE's Ineligible Occupations List includes SOC 5112, horticultural trades, and SOC 5113, gardeners and landscape gardeners, with no exception under either. The eligible route is the horticulture worker exception under SOC 9119, which covers a different kind of job. If the role is a skilled trade or landscaping position, a General Employment Permit is not available for it.
€32,691 a year, with a minimum hourly rate of €16.12. That is DETE's reduced rate, which it applies to horticulture workers, meat processor operatives, health care assistants and home support workers. The standard General Employment Permit minimum is €36,605. DETE counts basic salary and employer-paid health insurance towards it, so overtime and bonuses do not count.
Yes. Schedule 5 of the Employment Permits Regulations, as substituted by S.I. 213/2026, sets a maximum of 971 General Employment Permits for horticulture workers, counted from 13 May 2026. DETE's notices for filled quotas say that applications still waiting to be processed will be rejected. As of 6 November 2026 it has posted no such notice for horticulture workers.
Not at the moment. The Seasonal Employment Permit has only run as a pilot, and DETE says it would be premature to launch it as a full scheme. DETE has recommended a second pilot in horticulture for the 2027 season, pending interest from the sector. For now the General Employment Permit is the route, and DETE itself names it as the interim route for short-term labour needs.