How hard is it to obtain an Ireland work visa?

Here is my rather atypical situation, I have a Canadian citizen friend who accepted a job offer from Google for a permanent position at their Dublin branch. The offer is for over over 60K+ Euros and it is for an IT/Computing Science related career[so its part of the Critical Skills list if that in any way is relevant]. Moreover he has no degree but has relevant work experience from high-school summer internships.My questions are therefore two-fold, how hard is it for him to obtain a work visa to Ireland and also what should his previous employer write in my friend's reference letter? Any replies will be welcomed