I propose to take Question No 709 and Question No 714 together.
Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from 1 July to 31 December 2026. This will be a major undertaking for Ireland, and an important opportunity for Ireland to lead and shape the European agenda. Progress on formulating Ireland’s Presidency priorities and policy programme is ongoing, and is guided by the EU’s Strategic Agenda for 2024–2029, the European Commission’s legislative proposals, and Ireland’s national priorities within the EU. Input from European partners, the evolving legislative agenda under the Presidencies of Denmark (July–December 2025) and Cyprus (January–June 2026), as well as engagement with our Trio partners (Lithuania and Greece), in order to develop a coordinated Trio Presidency programme across the 18-month period from mid-2026 to the end of 2027, will all also inform this approach. My Department works closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who will organise a series of domestic consultation meetings later this year with stakeholders from across civil society, trade unions, business, youth organisations and other groups. A written consultation process will also be launched in late 2025.
It will be critical for Ireland, and for me, as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, that Ireland’s Presidency priorities focus on addressing the shared challenges we face across the Union and advancing a constructive policy agenda that benefits all EU citizens. For the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, our work is centrally focused on investment in our people, and on strengthening and securing competitiveness. This also informs our engagement in Europe and in EU structures. The work of the Department takes place on a strong foundation of active and close consultation with our sectoral partners, which includes Research Ireland, the Higher Education Authority, SOLAS, the Irish Universities Association, the Technological Universities Association, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the National Skills Council, and others.
From a research and innovation policy perspective, one of the main items on the agenda of Council will be to progress and possibly conclude the negotiation of the next Framework Programme for Research & Innovation. One of the principal items on the agenda of Council from the higher and further education policy perspective, will be to progress and possibly conclude the negotiation on the next Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. My Department, as the national authority for the current Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes, coordinates regularly with the Erasmus+ national agencies (Léargas and the Higher Education Authority) and other Departments with policy relevance to these programmes, the Department of Education and Youth, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Department of Children, Disability and Equality. My officials and I are fully engaged with the two most relevant EU Councils, the Competitiveness Council (Research & Innovation) and the Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council (Education and Youth) – as well as the technical groups and relevant policy groups related to both the European Research Area and the European Education Area. This forms a comprehensive engagement with Member States, the Commission and relevant stakeholders to provide significant opportunities to shape and influence the overall agendas in each case.
Additionally, as part of the Presidency agenda, my Department is working with partners across the higher and further education and research and innovation sectors to shape a series of meetings and events to take place in Ireland during the Presidency. This work is part of the preparations for the development of Ireland’s official calendar for the Presidency which will be published in June 2026 with the launch of Ireland’s EU Presidency website.
