Stormont seeks clarity on poultry workers' visas

Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has given a lukewarm response to the government's plan to allow 5,500 temporary poultry workers into the UK.

The scheme is an attempt to relieve labour shortages before Christmas.

Edwin Poots is seeking a meeting with Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Daera said the "initial assessment is that more needs to be done given the problems being experienced in other sectors, especially pig processing".

Last week, Mr Poots proposed that immigration rules be relaxed to allow Filipino meat plant workers into the UK.

'Worrying shortages of labour' in NI

"There are butchers from the Philippines who are ready to come here," Edwin Poots told BBC News NI.

"They will be well paid... they just don't have the English, so we need a bit of an amendment to that," he added.

• Hauliers and poultry workers to get temporary visas

People entering the UK on a skilled work visa must be able to prove an intermediate level of language proficiency.

Mr Poots said his party has been lobbying government ministers, including the home secretary, to make a change.

Edwin Poots proposed that immigration rules be relaxed to allow Filipino meat plant workers into the UK.

However, the UK Agriculture Secretary George Eustice dismissed that idea.

A Daera spokesperson said there were "increasingly worrying shortages of labour within the NI agri-food sector".

He added that officials are seeking greater clarity on the temporary visas for poultry workers.