Just under 1,400 work permits were issued in Galway from outside the European Economic Area last year.
According to the Irish Independent, almost 31,000 permits were issued nationwide - a significant rise in the past ten years, with just 4,000 issued in 2013.
Workers travelling here from India, the Philippines, Brazil and China have been described as 'crucial to the Irish economy'.
Junior Enterprise Minister, Neale Richmond, says permits are issued for sectors experiencing skills shortages:
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