The president of the Irish Hotels Federation has said 'archaic bureaucracy' is damaging the potential of Irish tourism.
Mary Fitzgerald told delegates at the federation's annual conference in Kilkenny that a situation where work permits were taking up to seven weeks to process was unacceptable.
She said many suitable foreign nationals were taking positions in other countries because they could not wait for an Irish permit to come through.
The IHF is calling on the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment to look at the situation urgently.
Meanwhile, the IHF has announced details of an independent report on the hotels industry compiled by a team of consultants.
The report makes over 50 recommendations, and says a number of regulations restricting hotel and guest house businesses should be removed. It also calls for investment in workforce development and training.
