Restrictions to Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, seeking jobs in Ireland, were removed by the government in Dublin, the Irish Times informed.

Restrictions were introduced when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU five years ago.

Enda Kenny's government took the decision after observing a big drop in the number of Bulgarians and Romanians seeking work in Ireland.

While in 2003, citizens from both countries filed 3,600 work permit applications, in 2011, the number of these applications declined to just 500. Meanwhile, the population of Romanians and Bulgarians living in Ireland fell by about 3,000 between 2008 and 2011.