Yes, it can now. Since 2 September 2024 the Employment Permits Act 2024 has allowed an employment agency to hold the permit for a non-EEA worker it places with a client business. That reverses the old position, and one DETE web page still describes the old rule.
Correct as of 26 October 2026. Get in touch and we will check the current position for your specific role before you spend anything on the process.
The short answer
An Irish employment agency can now be the employer on an employment permit for a worker who does the work of a client. The agency makes the application. The client can fund the salary.
The worker still needs a permit before starting, and some permit types are closed to agency workers altogether.
Why you may have been told no
If you searched this before, you probably found DETE's page on "Eligibility for employment permits for employment agencies and agency workers". It says:
"Under the Employment Permits Acts applications for employment permits cannot be considered from an employment agency where it transpires that the non-EEA national is to be assigned to work for, and under the direction and supervision of, an employer other than the employment agency."
It adds that "there must be a direct employer/employee contract in place between the employer and non-EEA employee".
The page is signed Economic Migration Policy Unit, dated 2021, and relies on section 1(2) and 1(3) of the Employment Permits Act 2006. Section 6 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 repealed the 2006 Act, along with the 2003 Act. Section 6 sits in Part 1 of the Act, which S.I. No. 443 of 2024 brought into force on 2 September 2024.
So an agency or adviser quoting that page is quoting a rule that rests on repealed legislation.
What the 2024 Act says
The definition. Section 2 says a "contract of employment" includes a contract under which an individual agrees with a person "carrying on the business of an employment agency within the meaning of the Employment Agency Act 1971" to "do or perform personally any work or service for a third person".
Who applies. Section 12(2)(c) says that where a foreign national is employed under that kind of contract, "the application shall be made by the employment agency with whom the foreign national has entered into that contract of employment".
Who pays. Section 3 says the remuneration DETE considers can be the remuneration proposed to be paid by "the employment agency or third person concerned".
DETE's 2024 Employment Permits FAQs put it plainly. The revised definition of employer "facilitates an agency to be the employer of a permit holder while carrying out the work of a client of that agency making it possible for the client to provide for the salary while the agency remains as the employer."
Limits and rules that still apply
Two permit types are excluded. Section 12(9) says an application for an Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit or a Contract for Service Employment Permit "shall not be made" for a worker employed under an agency contract. DETE describes the Contract for Services permit as designed for a foreign undertaking that has won a contract to provide services to an Irish entity. For that route, read our Contract for Services permit guide.
Under section 33, the Minister may refuse an application where the employment agency has been convicted of an offence under the Act, or an enactment in Schedule 1, in the five years before the application.
No permit, no work. Section 7(3) says a person shall not employ a foreign national in the State except in accordance with an employment permit that is in force for that person.
Where a General Employment Permit needs a Labour Market Needs Test, the vacancy has to be advertised with the Department of Social Protection's JobsIreland and EURES services, and on a second online platform, for at least 28 days.
Five questions before you agree
The Act makes the arrangement possible. It does not tell you whether a particular agency runs it well. Ask these before you commit.
- Does the agency hold an employment agency licence? The Workplace Relations Commission says an employment agency must hold a licence under the Employment Agency Act 1971 to carry on its business, and it publishes a Current Employment Agency List. For the check itself, read our guide to an agency's terms of business.
- Whose name is on the application and the job offer? It should be the agency's. If an agency asks you to sign as the applicant while it calls itself the employer, get that explained in writing.
- Whose workforce counts for the 50:50 rule? Section 22 measures the employees of "the person who has made the offer of employment". Ask the agency to confirm, in writing, whose headcount it is relying on.
- What happens to the worker if your contract with the agency ends? Ask what the agency does with the worker if your assignment finishes early.
- Who carries the costs? Section 55 bars an employer from recovering permit or recruitment costs from the permit holder. Check the agency's terms say where those costs sit between you and them.
The other route: you hire direct
The Act still lets the business that wants the worker apply itself. Section 12(1) says an application may be made by the person proposing to employ the foreign national, or by the foreign national.
This is the route we offer. You make the job offer and you are the employer on the permit. We offer the rest: finding and screening candidates, running the Labour Market Needs Test where your role needs one, preparing the application and seeing the worker through to arrival.
The DETE fee for a General Employment Permit of 6 to 24 months is €1,000, and DETE refunds 90% of it if the application is unsuccessful. Ask us how long the process takes from the country you want to hire from, or read about our overseas recruitment service.
If you are comparing suppliers, read our guide to choosing an overseas recruitment agency next. Or get in touch and tell us the role.
Sources: Employment Permits Act 2024, sections 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 22, 33 and 55; S.I. No. 443 of 2024, Employment Permits Act 2024 (Commencement) Order 2024; Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Employment agencies and agency workers (2021), Employment Permits FAQs, Contract for Services Employment Permit, Employment Permits Act 2024 information note and General Employment Permit; Workplace Relations Commission, Employment Agencies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, since 2 September 2024. The Employment Permits Act 2024 counts a contract between a worker and an employment agency, under which the worker performs work for a third person, as a contract of employment. Section 12 says that where the worker is employed under that kind of contract, the application is made by the employment agency.
DETE's page on employment agencies and agency workers is dated 2021 and relies on the Employment Permits Act 2006. Section 6 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 repealed the 2006 Act. DETE's own 2024 Employment Permits FAQs say the new definition of employer facilitates an agency to be the employer of a permit holder while the worker carries out the work of a client.
The Act allows it. For a worker employed through an agency, the remuneration considered on the application is the remuneration proposed to be paid by the employment agency or the third person concerned. DETE's 2024 FAQs describe this as making it possible for the client to provide for the salary while the agency remains the employer.
No. Section 12(9) of the Employment Permits Act 2024 says an application for an Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit or a Contract for Service Employment Permit shall not be made for a foreign national employed under an agency contract of employment.
The direct-hire route. You make the job offer and you are the employer on the permit. We offer the rest: finding and screening candidates, running the Labour Market Needs Test where your role needs one, preparing the application and seeing the worker through to arrival.