Meat processing is Ireland's largest single user of employment permits and the sector where quotas run out first: the 1,000 operative permits opened in December 2025 were almost gone by late August 2026. Butchers and boners have their own quota at the full rate. This page covers what is open, what it costs, how we test for the boning hall, and the condition DETE has attached to the next round.
Two routes, two pay floors. Meat processing operatives came under a quota of 1,000 General Employment Permits on 18 December 2025 at the sub-standard rate of €32,691; on 26 August 2026 DETE announced the quota almost exhausted and asked employers not to submit new applications — those still in the queue when it fills are rejected, and a role without quota cannot be granted a permit. Butchers and boners have a separate quota of 548 from 13 May 2026 at the full €36,605, and meat deboners are priced at €36,605 under DETE's checklist. Both carry the employer's declaration on accommodation and training including language training.
Filipino meat workers come from Philippine and Gulf meat and poultry plants and from TESDA Slaughtering and Meat Processing programmes. At our Makati facilities candidates bone and cut to your specification — yield, knife safety, hygiene, line speed — while your production manager watches live and interviews the same day; butchers and boners additionally demonstrate primal breakdown and trimming to spec. Candidates are briefed on shifts, the cold environment, housing and net pay before signing.
The Review report that accompanied the May 2026 lists states that future quotas will be contingent on a structured improvement in retention, and the Minister has said an action plan with the sector will precede any new operative quota. Plants that keep their Filipino staff — housing, honest briefing, a path from operative to boner at the higher rate — are the plants that will be listened to. We build the programme accordingly.
The General Employment Permit is the route for almost every trade and operative role: minimum annual remuneration of €36,605 from 1 March 2026 (basic pay on a 39-hour week, €18.05 an hour; the sub-standard rate of €32,691 applies only to healthcare assistants and home-support workers, meat processing operatives and horticulture workers), a permit fee of €1,000 for up to two years refunded at 90 % if refused, a first permit of two years renewable for three, and an application filed at least twelve weeks before the start date. Before filing, the Labour Market Needs Test: the vacancy advertised for 28 continuous days on JobsIreland (and through it EURES) and for 28 days on one other online platform, stating the job, the employer, the location, the hours and the minimum annual remuneration, with the application lodged within 90 days of the first publication. At company level at least half of the employees must be EEA nationals — the 50:50 rule — with exceptions for start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA and for a sole employee; the Government approved proposals in May 2026 to amend the rule for health and social care, not yet law.
The permit decides family life as well as work. Critical Skills permit holders may bring their nuclear family immediately with no income test; General Employment Permit holders may apply after twelve months in the State and must meet an income test under the Family Reunification Policy of 12 June 2026 — above €30,000 gross for a spouse, and for children a net income above Working Family Payment levels, which for one child corresponds to roughly €50,200 gross. A tradesman at €36,605 can bring a spouse after a year and, in practice, not his children; we say so in Manila before anyone signs.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in London, which covers the United Kingdom and Ireland, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Employment Permits Act 2024 and regulations, the occupations lists in force (S.I. 213/2026), DETE and ISD practice, Irish employment law and Philippine DMW rules.
Not realistically — DETE announced the 1,000 quota almost exhausted on 26 August 2026 and asked employers not to file. Butchers and boners (548) remain open at €36,605.
Occupation code and pay floor: operatives (8111) at €32,691 under the operative quota; butchers and boners (5431) at €36,605 under their own quota. We classify the role from its actual duties.
Yes — boning and cutting to your specification, yield, knife safety and hygiene at Makati, watched live by your production manager.
DETE has tied it to a retention action plan with the sector; no date is published. We track the updates page and advise employers to prepare the Labour Market Needs Test ahead of any announcement.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.