Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 February 2025
404. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education the number of requests to her Department that were granted for various matters (details supplied); the number of such requests that have been refused; and the grounds on which they have were refused. [2499/25]
View answer527. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education the measures her Department is taking to encourage civil servants in her Department to take or avail of special leave or career breaks, or other forms of leave to encourage and facilitate Ireland's 2026 EU Presidency, the Government "Career for EU" jobs strategy, and the Department's Gaeilge-Irish language policy and promotion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3953/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 404 and 527 together.
Delivering a successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) from July to December 2026 requires extensive preparatory work and significant resources. An important element of this is to ensure that there are sufficient staffing resources in place, both in Dublin and in Brussels at the Permanent Representation to the EU, to enable us to prepare and deliver a high-quality Education Presidency together and to manage its implementation.
The Department of Education is currently establishing the resource requirements, including our staffing needs arising from the EU Presidency role. The Presidency team in the Department of Education is being led by the International Unit along with the Education Attaché in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU. This team has been engaged with the EU Presidency central planning process that is being coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs which includes discussion on staffing requirements. In addition, discussions are ongoing between the Presidency team and the Human Resources (HR) Unit of this department on the resourcing requirements associated with the EU Presidency.
Since 2024, no applications have been made for special leave or career breaks to facilitate Ireland's 2026 EU presidency, the Career for EU jobs strategy, the Gaeilge/Irish-language policy or to accompany a spouse to take up a temporary post in an EU institution. Where such applications are made, these will be given favourable consideration in line with central policies on special leave/career breaks for civil servants, the business needs of the department, career development opportunities for staff members and of course wider Government priorities.
