In short: CA Recruitment is a WRC-licensed recruitment agency that works with Dublin employers who cannot fill roles from the local market. We source candidates from outside the EEA, most often the Philippines, and manage the full DETE employment permit: the eligibility check, the Labour Market Needs Test, the application, and the worker's visa. Every placement carries a 90-day replacement guarantee. The service runs remotely, so a Dublin employer gets the same end-to-end management as any employer in Ireland.
Correct as of 15 September 2026. DETE salary thresholds, permit fees and processing times change during the year, and quotas for some roles have filled and reopened without notice in 2026 alone. Get in touch and we will verify the current position for your specific role before you spend anything on the process.
A recruitment agency in Dublin for roles the local market will not fill
This page is for employers, not job seekers. If you manage a business in Dublin and you have been advertising a role for months with no suitable applicants, the problem is usually not your ad. It is the pool. A conventional agency draws on the same candidates who can already work in Ireland, so a second agency working the same pool rarely changes the result.
Hiring from outside the EEA through an Irish employment permit is a legitimate, well-established route. The catch is the process. The role has to be eligible, the salary has to meet the DETE minimum, the Labour Market Needs Test has to run for 28 days, and the application has to be right first time. That is the part most agencies will not take on, and it is the part CA Recruitment does.
What CA Recruitment does that a generalist agency will not
- Sourcing outside the EEA. Monette is Filipino, lives in Ireland, and sources candidates through her own direct networks in the Philippines. Where a role suits a candidate from another country, we source there too. You see people who match the role, not a database search.
- The DETE permit, end to end. We confirm the role against DETE's eligible and ineligible lists, set the salary at or above the correct threshold, run the Labour Market Needs Test, prepare and submit the application, and coordinate the worker's visa and travel. You review and sign the employer declaration on the application. We do the rest.
- A 90-day replacement guarantee. If a worker leaves within their first 90 days, or you dismiss them for gross misconduct in that period, we source a replacement and waive our recruitment fee for it. Read the full guarantee terms.
- Straight answers on eligibility. Some of the roles Dublin employers most want to fill are on the ineligible list. We tell you that on the first call, before you spend anything.
Choosing between agencies for an overseas hire? Our guide to choosing an overseas recruitment agency in Ireland sets out the questions to ask any agency, including us.
Sectors we recruit for in Dublin
CA Recruitment places overseas workers in any role eligible for an Irish employment permit. From Dublin employers, the demand we see most often is:
- Care: care assistants, home carers and home support workers for Dublin nursing homes, homecare providers and disability services. These roles take DETE's reduced rate of €16.12 an hour, which is €32,691 on a 39-hour week. Our care recruitment agency page covers the quota position and the pay floor in detail.
- Nursing: registered nurses for Dublin hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, on the Critical Skills route with NMBI registration managed alongside the permit. See our nursing recruitment agency page.
- Hospitality: qualified chefs, from Commis Chef upwards with the experience DETE asks for, for Dublin hotels and restaurants. Waiting, bar and kitchen-assistant roles are on the ineligible list, so we will tell you straight what qualifies. See our hospitality recruitment agency page.
- Construction: skilled trades for Dublin's residential and commercial build pipeline. General labouring and site-operative roles do not qualify; the named trades do, at the Sectoral Employment Order rate. Our construction recruitment agency page covers the eligible trades and the pay floors.
- Logistics: HGV drivers who hold a category CE or C1E licence recognised under an RSA mutual recognition agreement. Most general warehouse and operative roles are on the ineligible list. See our logistics recruitment agency page.
- Manufacturing: production and process staff for Dublin plants. See our manufacturing recruitment agency page.
- Agriculture and horticulture: farm and horticulture roles in the county's rural fringe and the wider commuter belt. See our agricultural recruitment agency page.
Not sure your role qualifies? We confirm eligibility against DETE's lists during a free check. See the full list of sectors we cover.
How it works for a Dublin business
The employment permit process is national. Applications go to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE), not to any local office, so a Dublin employer is served exactly the same as one anywhere in Ireland. We are based in Co. Tipperary and have no Dublin office. Everything is handled by phone, WhatsApp, email and video, and nothing in the process needs an in-person visit.
For most roles the route is the General Employment Permit. For registered nurses and other shortage occupations on the Critical Skills list it is the Critical Skills Employment Permit. CA Recruitment confirms the correct permit, runs the Labour Market Needs Test where required, prepares and submits the DETE application, and coordinates the worker's visa and arrival. The full journey is set out in our Work Permit Guide for Irish Employers.
Two figures every Dublin employer asks about. On cost, our recruitment fee is agreed in writing before any work begins and is separate from government charges, the main one being the DETE application fee of €1,000 for a General Employment Permit of more than six months. Our guide to the cost of hiring an overseas worker in Ireland lays out every line, including employer PRSI and the salary floor. On time, allow 6 to 8 months from first call to start date for a candidate from a visa-required country such as the Philippines, or about 4 to 5 months from a non-visa-required country such as Brazil.
Hiring in Dublin? Let's check eligibility.
WhatsApp Monette directly on 089 416 6124 for a free eligibility check. We'll confirm whether your Dublin roles qualify, the correct permit and salary threshold, and a realistic timeline. No commitment required.
Why Dublin employers work with CA Recruitment
Filipino-Irish owned, Ireland-based
Monette is Filipino and lives in Ireland. She sources candidates through her own direct networks in the Philippines: people she has spoken to and whose qualifications she has verified personally.
End-to-end permit management
The DETE process has precise requirements at every stage. We manage all of it. You review and sign documents and choose from the shortlist.
90-day replacement guarantee
If a placed worker leaves in the first 90 days, or is dismissed for gross misconduct in that period, we replace them and waive our fee for the replacement. Our fee only; government costs are not covered.
Licensed and transparent
CA Recruitment holds WRC Employment Agency Licence No. EA 5444. Fees are agreed upfront in writing; government charges are billed at cost.
Frequently asked questions
CA Recruitment is based in Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary, and does not have a Dublin office. We work with Dublin employers the same way we work with employers everywhere in Ireland: by phone, WhatsApp, email and video. The employment permit process is national and runs through DETE, not a local office, so nothing in the process needs an in-person visit. CA Recruitment holds WRC Employment Agency Licence No. EA 5444.
Most recruitment agencies in Dublin place people who are already entitled to work in Ireland, so they are drawing on the same local and EEA pool you have already advertised to. CA Recruitment sources workers from outside the EEA and manages the full DETE employment permit process, including the Labour Market Needs Test, the application and the worker's visa. Every placement is covered by a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Any role that is eligible for an Irish employment permit and not on the Ineligible List of Occupations. For Dublin employers that most often means care assistants and home carers, registered nurses, qualified chefs, skilled construction trades, HGV drivers who hold a licence recognised under an RSA mutual recognition agreement, and production staff in manufacturing. Waiting staff, bar staff and general warehouse operatives are on the ineligible list. We confirm whether a specific role qualifies during a free eligibility check.
Our recruitment fee is agreed with you in writing before any work begins, and it is separate from government costs. The main external cost is the DETE permit application fee, which is €1,000 for a General Employment Permit of more than six months and €500 for one of six months or less. Visa, travel and any Labour Market Needs Test advertising costs are passed through at cost. The worker's salary must meet the DETE minimum for the role: €36,605 a year for most General Employment Permit roles, or €16.12 an hour for healthcare assistant and home carer roles, which is €32,691 on a 39-hour week. Our cost of hiring an overseas worker guide walks through every line.
Allow 6 to 8 months from the first conversation to the worker's start date for a candidate from a visa-required country such as the Philippines. That covers the 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, DETE processing and the visa. A candidate from a non-visa-required country, such as Brazil, needs no entry visa, so allow about 4 to 5 months. We give you a realistic timeline for your role before you commit to anything.
If a worker we place leaves your employment within their first 90 days, or you dismiss them for gross misconduct within that period following a fair process, we source and place a replacement and waive our recruitment fee for that replacement. The guarantee covers our fee only. DETE permit fees, visa and travel costs are government and third-party charges and are not refunded by us. The full terms are on our 90-day replacement guarantee page.