How to Hire Pig Farm Workers from Overseas in Ireland

Pig units are among the hardest farms in Ireland to staff. The work is skilled, the hours are structured around the animals, and the local labour pool for farrowing and husbandry roles has been shrinking for years. If you run a pig farm and you've been asking whether you can hire from outside the EU — the answer is yes, and the route is more direct than for most other farm types.

Pig farm assistants and pig managers are both eligible for a General Employment Permit (GEP) from DETE. As of May 2026, neither role is subject to a quota cap — they were removed from the quota schedule by S.I. 213/2026 on 13 May 2026, and DETE has set no new cap since. This guide covers the salary rules specific to pig roles, the process from first call to a worker on your unit, and what it costs.

Can Irish pig farms hire workers from overseas?

Yes. Most farm worker roles sit on DETE's ineligible occupations list, which is why many farmers assume overseas hiring is off the table. Pig farming is one of the named exceptions.

DETE's ineligible list carves out two pig-specific roles:

• Pig farm assistant — an exception under farm workers (SOC 9111)
• Pig manager — an exception under farmers (SOC 5111)

Both were removed from the ineligible list in December 2023, when the government expanded the permit system specifically to bring skills into what it called these niche roles. The route is established, it is being used, and DETE processes these applications on an ongoing basis.

What this means in practice: feeding, farrowing, weaning, health monitoring, and unit maintenance roles can be filled with an overseas worker on a GEP. A general farm labourer role cannot — the job on the permit application needs to be genuine pig unit work.

Which pig farm roles qualify?

The two eligible classifications cover most of what a commercial pig unit needs:

• Pig farm assistant — day-to-day operative work: feeding, cleaning, farrowing house duties, weaning, moving stock, health checks, and unit upkeep
• Pig manager — running a unit or section: breeding programme management, herd performance, staff supervision, and compliance

If the role you're hiring for doesn't fit neatly into either, WhatsApp Monette before you do anything else. Classifying the role correctly at the start is the difference between a clean application and a refusal.

The salary rules — and a common mistake

Here is the detail that catches people out. Some agricultural roles qualify for a reduced GEP salary threshold of €32,691 per year. Pig roles are not among them. DETE applies the reduced rate only to horticulture workers, meat processor operatives, healthcare assistants, and home support workers.

For pig farm assistants and pig managers, the standard GEP minimum applies:

• Minimum annual remuneration: €36,605 — the standard GEP rate, in force since 1 March 2026
• That works out at €18.05 per hour on a 39-hour week
• The figure must be met through basic pay. Overtime, bonuses, and shift allowances do not count towards it

Permits are not restricted to full-time-only contracts — the Employment Permits Regulations 2024 set a floor of 20 hours a week, with no permit ceiling above it. The annual figure is the binding floor and it is not reduced for a shorter week: on fewer than 39 hours, the hourly rate has to rise so the annual minimum is still met; above 39 hours, you pay at least the €18.05 hourly rate, so the annual figure climbs with the hours. The 48-hour maximum working week is a separate rule — it comes from the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and applies to employees generally, not just permit holders.

DETE checks the contracted pay at application stage — get it wrong and the application is refused.

No quota on pig roles — and why that matters

Some permit categories are still quota-capped — Horticulture Worker at 971 a year and care worker or home carer at 1,495, under S.I. 213/2026, in force 13 May 2026. When a quota fills, DETE rejects further applications until a new one is announced, and employers who started the process late have lost months to a closed quota.

Pig roles are not in that position. Pig farm assistant and pig manager permits carry no active quota as of August 2026. Both were capped until 13 May 2026 — pig farm assistants at 214 permits and pig managers at 245, under S.I. 444/2024 — but S.I. 213/2026 substituted Schedule 5 in its entirety and did not carry either pig role forward. DETE has published no notice setting a new cap on pig roles, and no pig quota-filled notice appears on their latest-updates page.

So you can apply in any month, with no annual cap that could fill ahead of you. For a sector where staffing gaps tend to hit suddenly — a key worker leaving mid-cycle — that flexibility matters. DETE can reintroduce a quota at a future occupations review, so it is worth confirming the position before you start the process, but as the rules stand now, none applies.

The process, step by step

Four stages. CA Recruitment manages all of them — you sign documents and interview candidates; you don't touch the portal or the paperwork.

Step 1 — Eligibility and the 50/50 rule

At application date, at least 50% of your total workforce must be EEA, Swiss or UK citizens. For a pig unit employing four or five people and hiring one or two overseas workers, this is rarely a problem — but it has to be checked before anything else, because DETE will not process an application that fails it.

There are two narrow exemptions. The first is the sole-employee situation (section 22(3), Employment Permits Act 2024): you have no employees on the day of application and the overseas worker will be your only one when they start. The second (section 22(2)) requires all three of: two years registered with Revenue, a recommendation from an enterprise development agency such as Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, and the Minister satisfied the permit will develop employment in the State. There is no general small-business exemption. We run this check on the first call, at no cost.

Step 2 — Labour Market Needs Test (28 days)

Before the permit application, you must show that no suitable EEA candidate is available. The vacancy is advertised for 28 consecutive days on JobsIreland.ie, on EURES, and on at least one other online platform. Both JobsIreland and EURES are required — registering on jobsireland.ie covers both in one step, as DSP places the vacancy on EURES automatically. The employer separately places a third advert on a commercial jobs board. Every application received is logged, with reasons why no EEA candidate was suitable, and the permit application must go in within 90 days of the first advertisement.

We run the LMNT for you — and source Filipino candidates in parallel, so when the 28 days close you already have a shortlist of people with pig unit experience.

Step 3 — GEP application to DETE

The application goes through DETE's Employment Permits Online system. The fee is €1,000 for a permit of up to 24 months, paid by the employer — it cannot be charged to or recovered from the worker. If DETE refuses the application, 90% of the fee is refunded.

The DETE decision queue for new GEP applications moves through the year. See our employment permit processing times tracker for where it stands now, or the live processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie.

Step 4 — D-visa, arrival, and onboarding

Once the permit is approved, the worker applies for an Irish D-visa at the Irish Embassy in Manila — typically 2 to 4 weeks. Filipino workers also complete the Philippine side: medical screening and an Overseas Employment Certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). We track all of it.

On arrival, the worker registers with Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) for their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) and gets a PPS number for payroll. Most of it is done within the first week or two if appointments are booked ahead.

Timeline and costs

Total: around 6 months from first call to a worker on your unit, sometimes up to 8. The main variable is DETE's processing queue. Running stages in parallel — candidate sourcing during the LMNT, Philippine documentation during DETE processing — keeps it at the shorter end.

Costs to budget for:

• DETE permit fee: €1,000 per worker, 90% refunded if the application is refused
• Salary at or above €36,605 per year in basic pay
• CA Recruitment placement fee: quoted during the free consultation — nothing is payable until the worker starts

Why Filipino workers for Irish pig units

The Philippines has a substantial commercial pig industry, and many of the candidates we screen have worked on intensive piggery operations before — farrowing houses, weaner units, finishing sheds. They are not learning the basics on your farm.

English proficiency makes onboarding straightforward: health protocols, feeding schedules, and biosecurity rules are understood from day one. Workers depart through the Philippines' regulated DMW system, which means pre-departure medicals, NBI clearance, and documentation in order before they board a plane. And they stay — an overseas worker who has relocated for a contracted role does not drift off after three weeks the way casual local hires often do.

PJ Ryan of Ballymorris Pig Farm in Tipperary has hired Filipino workers for his pig unit through CA Recruitment, as has Charlie Ryan, another Tipperary pig farmer. These are ongoing working relationships, not one-off placements.

What CA Recruitment manages for you

CA Recruitment is owned and run by Monette — a Filipino national based in Tipperary who manages both the Irish permit side and the Philippines sourcing side directly. For every pig farm placement we handle:

• Eligibility check, role classification, and 50/50 ratio review (free, first call)
• Candidate sourcing and screening for genuine pig unit experience
• Labour Market Needs Test — advertising, logging, documentation
• DETE GEP application preparation and submission
• Philippine documentation tracking — medical, NBI clearance, OEC
• D-visa coordination with the Irish Embassy in Manila
• Arrival support — IRP registration, PPS number, first 90 days

If you want a straight answer on whether your role and your farm qualify, WhatsApp Monette — a five-minute conversation will tell you whether it's worth starting.

Frequently asked questions