I 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.
