Of great significance to many employers is the current right of EU citizens to freely live and work across the EU, thereby supporting employee mobility, labour supply and flexible recruitment practices. In theory, if the UK were to leave the EU then citizens of other Member States would no longer enjoy an automatic right to travel to and work in the UK (and by the same token UK citizens would no longer enjoy EU citizenship rights of freedom of movement in the EU).
Since the Brexit vote we have noticed a 19% increase in applications from the UK with over 44% of these being in the financial services sector. The IT/Technology market accounts for a further 37% of those applications. In addition to this we have met with several firms who have recently relocated to Ireland, mainly in the Insurance and financial services sectors.
We also conducted our own extensive survey (Abrivia Salary Survey & Economic Analysis 2017) of our clients based in Ireland which found that the Legal Sector sees itself as most insulated from the potential effect of Brexit and the Human Resource Sector is the most pessimistic in regards the adverse effects of Brexit. The Irish ICT and Financial sector remains buoyant in regards salary prospects and firm profitability despite Brexit where they are moderately concerned in regards mobility prospects between Ireland and the UK Firms want access to the EU market and many candidates are forward proofing their career by making the decision to move to Ireland which is ideally poised to reap the benefits of Brexit, as it will be the only English speaking country left in the EU and the most business friendly nation in the EU. If a hard Brexit looks eminent the floodgates will open even more and we expect a 40%-50% in the number of UK applicants.
Passport applications from the UK have increased by 40%, and work permit applications from outside the EU has increased by 31% as the UK is rapidly been considered as a closed shop. If a hard Brexit begins to materialise the influx of Brexit refugees will surge and Ireland is ideally placed to become the land of opportunity for those seeking career advancement opportunities with the security of being in the EU.
