Written Answers Nos. 264-269
264. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason the Passport Office does not appear to accept forwarded pdf statements of reckonable residence from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration given that the Department routinely sends emails on receipt of such requests; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17904/26]
View answerAll passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act 2008 ("the 2008 Act"), as amended. The 2008 Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to that person.
Entitlement to Irish citizenship is determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 ("the 1956 Act"), as amended, under which Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, or by naturalisation. The 1956 Act is under the remit of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration.
When processing a first time passport application, the Passport Service must validate the identity of the applicant and confirm their entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is the responsibility of the Passport Service to protect the integrity of the Irish passport process. As such, a rigorous process is in place to validate the identity of applicants and to confirm their citizenship status. Part of this process is the verification of original documentation.
Passport applications that involve the calculation of reckonable residence can be complex. The Passport Service has a dedicated team of highly skilled and experienced entitlement officers who review these applications and engage directly with the applicant to ensure that all required supporting documentation is submitted.
The Passport Service has contacted the Deputy with a view to providing additional support to a particular applicant if required.
Applicants with further queries can contact the Passport Service Customer Service Hub for assistance at +353 1 671 1633, or via the webchat service: www.ireland.ie/contactpassportservice/.
265. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will support a fast tracking to EU membership for Iceland if that country applies for membership; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18070/26]
View answerIreland and Iceland have very strong bilateral relations. I recently met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir at the Munich Security Conference
Iceland applied for EU membership in July 2009, with the Council deciding in June 2010 that accession negotiations would be opened. Iceland froze accession negotiations in May 2013, following a decision by the then government. At the time of that decision, 27 of the negotiating chapters had been opened, of which 11 were provisionally closed. In March 2015, Iceland’s government requested that that they should not be regarded as a candidate country for EU membership, but did not formally withdrew its EU accession application.
Last year, the government of Iceland declared that it would hold a referendum on resuming EU accession negotiations. In February 2026, the Prime Minister of Iceland confirmed her government's intention to hold a referendum on formally resuming EU accession negotiations in "the coming months".
The Treaty on the European Union states that any European country may apply for EU membership if it respects the democratic values of the EU and is committed to promoting them. Ireland believes that all European countries deserve the opportunity to join the EU, once they meet all necessary criteria. All candidate countries are currently required to abide by the accession criteria known as the "Copenhagen criteria" and are required to align with EU standards across all negotiating chapters.
The speed with which a candidate country implements necessary reforms to align with EU standards, in addition to securing agreement from all EU member states to progress, determines how quickly any candidate country can finalise accession negotiations and join the EU.
266. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department plans to engage staff from the private sector who work in accountancy and corporate law firms to work in her Department during the course of the upcoming EU Presidency term; the terms under which such staff will be engaged; the number of staff her Department plans to hire; the measures planned to guard against potential conflicts of interest between her Department and parent companies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18086/26]
View answerThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade employs officials with qualifications as accountants and lawyers whose skills and expertise will contribute towards the Department's delivery of a successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Department does not plan to engage staff from the private sector to work in the Department during the Presidency.
267. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which preparations are being organised across Government for Ireland’s EU Council Presidency commencing in July 2026, and for the associated Trio Presidency programme; the governance structures in place to oversee preparation including any interdepartmental groups, senior officials’ committees and Cabinet oversight arrangements; the number of formal Presidency/Trio preparation meetings which have taken place to date; the dates on which they occurred; the Departments represented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18171/26]
View answer268. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade which Departments/Ministries have been requested to provide input to the Trio programme documents and Ireland’s draft Presidency priorities; the nature of the input sought; the key legislative and policy priorities identified for Ireland’s Presidency term, including the principal EU files Ireland expects to prioritise for progress and/or agreement; the way the Government intends to manage and resolve areas of divergence or disagreement between Trio partners in finalising the Trio programme and in setting Presidency priorities during Ireland’s term, including the escalation and dispute-resolution arrangements envisaged; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18172/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together.
Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from 1 July to 31 December 2026. The Presidency will be an opportunity for Ireland to play an important role in leading and shaping the EU’s policy and legislative agenda, and the Government has made a firm commitment to resource and deliver a successful Presidency in 2026.
The Programme for Government contains a firm commitment to resource and deliver a successful Presidency in 2026. Preparations are well underway across both policy and operational strands of planning, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in close coordination with the Department of the Taoiseach, and with the active participation of all Departments across Government.
I provided an update to the Government earlier this week on progress in our preparations, and the Government discussed a number of aspects of our planning, including work on the development of our Presidency policy programme.
Significant progress has been made by the two Inter-Departmental Groups leading on the coordination of Presidency planning. The Inter-Departmental Group on Presidency Policy Planning, which is coordinating work on the preparation of Ireland’s policy approach, has met on a total of 25 occasions. The Inter-Departmental Group on Operational Presidency Planning, which is focusing on putting in place key practical and operational building blocks for the Presidency, has met a total of 22 times. Both groups generally meet on a monthly basis, with quarterly meetings of the Policy Planning Group chaired by the Minister for European Affairs and Defence.
The priorities and policy programme for the Irish Presidency, setting out the specific policy initiatives on which Ireland will focus work during its Presidency term, are being prepared based on inputs from all Government Departments through the Inter-Departmental Group on Presidency Policy Planning. Our policy programme will be finalised and published in June, shortly before the start of our Presidency term.
Ireland’s EU Presidency will be the first of a Trio also involving Lithuania (January – June 2027) and Greece (July – December 2027). For each 18-month Trio period, the incoming three Presidencies prepare together a programme of Council activities for that period.
The Trio partners are working with the General Secretariat of the Council to develop a Trio policy programme setting out a high-level agenda for the work of the Council during the Trio period. Ireland's engagement in that process is also being coordinated through the Inter-Departmental Group on Presidency Policy Planning, and all Government Departments have had the opportunity to provide inputs towards the preparation of the Trio programme.
As per usual practice, the draft Trio programme will be presented to the General Affairs Council for endorsement in June 2026.
We look forward to positive and constructive engagement with the EU institutions and other Member States over the term of our EU Presidency and our Trio period, building on the positive work done under the last Presidency Trio of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus.
269. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department plans to engage staff from the private sector who work in accountancy and corporate law firms to work in his Department during the course of the upcoming EU Presidency term; the terms under which such staff will be engaged; the number of staff his Department plans to hire; the measures planned to guard against potential conflicts of interest between his Department and parent companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18080/26]
View answerIreland will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2026. This is a major national responsibility, placing Ireland at the centre of European decision-making at a time of profound transformation in climate, energy, environment, the circular economy and marine affairs.
My Department will lead Ireland's Presidency agenda across these sectors. To strengthen national capacity and ensure Ireland delivers a successful, ambitious and credible Presidency, my Department is establishing the Presidency Policy and Legal Expert Placement Programme. Details of the Programme, including numbers the Department intends to hire are available at the following link: Call for expressions of interest – Climate, Energy and Environment EU Presidency Placement Programme (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/call-for-expressions-of-interest-dcee-climate-energy-environment-and-marine-affairs-presidency-placement-programme/)
This Programme is not confined to accountancy and corporate law firms and successful applicants will be subject to well-established practices and procedures to guard against potential conflicts of interest, such as signing of Official Secrets commitments etc. where required. Successful applicants will not be involved in decision making on policy, nor will they be responsible for negotiating positions for or on behalf of my Department and/or Government.
