Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2026
9. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps or initiatives being put in place by her Department to encourage Irish people to take up employment opportunities in the EU; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38029/26]
View answerIncreasing the number of Irish citizens working in the EU Institutions and Agencies is a priority for the Government and is the overarching goal of theA Career for EU strategy which was launched in 2021. Implementation of the strategy is led by the Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne TD.
The strategy has three focus areas: promoting EU careers in Ireland; providing training and supports for Irish candidates; and advocating for reform of the EU's recruitment process. Since its launch, outreach and awareness-raising of careers in the EU have expanded significantly, with an emphasis on second and third-level careers events and webinars with professional bodies. In 2025, hundreds of Irish candidates received targeted training supports across multiple competitions, including EU-specific practice materials and interview preparation for temporary and permanent positions.
This is showing results. Ireland had 43 permanent officials at the key entry grades in the European Commission in December 2025, up from 30 in 2022. Recently, over 1,700 Irish citizens submitted applications for the AD5 competition – the EU’s first large scale recruitment competition for permanent officials since 2019 - placing Ireland 10th out of 27 Member States on a per capita basis. The result also showed that Ireland had the third largest increase in candidates compared to our figures in 2019, a significant achievement.
Funding for the Centrally Funded Scheme for the Secondment of National Experts from the public service to the EU has risen from €2 million in 2021 to €4.2 million in 2026, supporting an increase from 24 SNEs to 53 over the course of 2025 — giving Ireland the highest number of SNEs per capita in the European Commission.
The Government will continue to work tirelessly to promote the EU as a possible career for Irish people. I hope that Ireland’s Presidency of the EU will encourage people to work in the EU, where they can have a positive impact on the lives of the Union’s 450 million citizens.
