Ireland keen to hire Indian health workers, fintech staff: Indian envoy

In a Q&A, Sandeep Kumar says Ireland, with its strategic positioning, can become the next 'speak-to country' for India, post-Brexit, for leveraging its business interests in EU institutional platforms

Indian health workers have played a jey role in Ireland's fight against Covid-19. India’s Ambassador to Ireland Sandeep Kumar tells Archis Mohan that there is significant demand for skilled healthcare workers in Ireland, and the current pandemic crisis is expected to pave the way for more recruitments from India. He says Ireland is also likely to open its doors for Indians working in fintech, medtech and IT-enabled sectors.

He argues that Ireland, with its strategic positioning, can become the next ‘speak-to country’ for India, post-Brexit, for leveraging its business interests in the EU institutional platforms.

What is the experience of the nurses that flew from India to Ireland to help during the lockdown?

Two-hundred-and-ninety-two employment visas have been issued to Indian nurses by the Irish government since May 2020. Ninety per cent of the new nurses are from Kerala. They are working in private and public health institutions throughout Ireland. There remains a significant demand for skilled healthcare workers locally, and the current pandemic crisis is expected to pave the way for more recruitments.

So far, there has been a loophole in the Irish system in not recognising medical internships done in India, thereby proving a disadvantage for Indian medical consultants seeking job opportunities here. The embassy has liaised with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Department of Health to resolve the issue, leading to the introduction of Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Act, 2007 in the Irish Parliament last year, proposing removal of the restrictive clauses, which will create a level-playing field for all.

How have Indians, mostly healthcare workers, helped as frontline staff?

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Board data (2018-19), there are more than 6,000 Indian-origin nurses registered in Ireland, making up nearly nine per cent of the total nurses. Apart from this, there would be around 250 senior medical consultants and around 400-500 junior doctors. A good number of these worked as frontline staff in various establishments throughout Ireland. It was learnt that some important recruitments of nurses from India took place even during the pandemic last month, to cope with the ongoing health situation.

Additionally, Indian Associations, religious organisations and voluntary groups provided valuable support in terms of free delivery of food and medicine to those in need. The gurudwara in Dublin delivered 700 food packets daily during the lockdown period to frontline institutions like hospitals, police stations and fire departments, which was widely appreciated.

Several Indian students are now opting for Ireland as a study destination and many Indians are entering the research and job market. What's your take?

As per our estimates, the Indian community in Ireland is around 45,000 strong, the bulk of which is in healthcare, IT and engineering. There are more than 5,000 students, mostly at the post-graduate level in data science, financial and business management, engineering and medicine, across Ireland in top universities.

Over the past one year, the Irish Government took some major decisions impacting Indian nationals positively, such as allowing turbans and hijabs as part of the police uniform; waiver of re-entry visas; abolishment of requirement for employment permits for spouses of holders of critical skills visas; and enactment of anti-hate laws.

In 2019, some 5,373 employment permits were issued to Indians, the highest for a non-EU country. The number is expected to grow in the future as the Irish economy rebounds post-Covid, and Ireland strives to meet its demand for high-skilled workers, particularly in fintech, medtech and IT-enabled sectors. There is also likely to be an increase in student numbers, considering the high quality education at a comparatively reasonable cost.

With India looking at reducing trade with China, does it hold opportunities for India-Ireland trade and business?

Bilateral trade in goods amounted to Euro 1.2 billion by end 2019. As per last available figures, trade in services was Euro 4.2 billion. India mainly imports IT devices, plastics, scientific and medical equipment from Ireland.

Ireland is at the forefront of cutting-edge digital technologies such as AI, digital currency, internet of things (IoTs), i-cloud messaging, geo-tracing, advanced BPOs, fintech, clean-tech, agri-tech, block chain technologies, RFID tags, 3D printing and VR applications.

India can benefit from Irish investment, technology and know-how for our flagship programmes like Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities. Moreover, through pharmaceutical sectoral convergence, both countries can integrate better health infrastructure in their manufacturing and supply chains.

These forms of collaboration will provide an opportunity to diversify our supply chains emanating from China, and position India as a strong competitor to China.

Ireland is also increasingly seen as a country where tech giants have come to base their privacy governance operations. Are there opportunities for Indian companies?

Most of the large tech giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Intel, have their global/European headquarters in Ireland. These are for reasons of its membership of the EU, availability of highly skilled workforce, common law, prevalence of English language, low 12.5 per cent corporate tax and pro-enterprise government policy. Besides, the robust cyber security infrastructure and security-enabled data centres make it a secure destination within EU.

Indian tech companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech-Mahindra and HCL have also set up operations in Ireland for the same reasons of availability of skilled labour, data protection infrastructure, tax advantages and Ireland being a hub for start-ups and innovation.

Organisations such as IDA Ireland are working with Indian companies to help them set up base in Ireland and expand globally. At a larger level, with its strategic positioning, Ireland can become the next ‘speak-to country’ post-Brexit, for leveraging our business interests in the EU institutional platforms, including for conclusion of the long-pending Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement.

Could you share details on Indian biotech companies like Panacea working with Irish companies to develop Covid-19 vaccine?

The pandemic has opened up new possibilities in joint collaboration between India and Ireland in medical research and manufacturing of medical drugs and equipment. An Indian scientist at NUIG has developed de-contaminant anti-bio agent ABwipe, a highly innovative technology for non-toxic removal of pathogens from surfaces, including skin, face, eyes, nose and mouth, in collaboration with the Irish Defence Forces and with funding from the European Defence Agency. This can be useful for India as well.

We've also had news reports that Panacea Biotec, an Indian innovation-led biotechnology group will be collaborating with Refana Inc., USA for the development, manufacturing and distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine through a joint venture company to be based in Ireland.

How has the relationship between India and Ireland contributed in dealing with Covid-19 outbreak?

In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telecon with the then Irish PM Leo Varadkar to exchange experiences on pandemic management as well as to explore future collaboration in the pharmaceuticals and medical fields, towards the global fight against the pandemic. Varadkar specifically expressed appreciation for the tremendous role played by Indian nurses and doctors in frontline positions in Ireland.

Lifting the restriction on export of essential medicines, the Indian government facilitated the export of around 1,700 MTs of paracetamol to Ireland. The generous pandemic unemployment payments offered by the Irish Government to those who had lost jobs, wage subsidies for employers and low-interest credits for micro-businesses were also availed by Indian companies, professionals and students. Local Irish organizations raised substantial money for Indian PM CARES Fund.