There is currently no single, formalised mechanism across all Departments that provides for civil servants to transfer on secondment to equivalent roles within the institutions of the European Union while retaining full continuity of pension and all associated employment rights.
The Deputy will be aware that Irish civil servants may apply for opportunities within EU institutions through open competitions organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) or via national expert secondment arrangements such as Seconded National Expert (SNE) roles. These arrangements are governed by EU rules and individual Departments, and may have varying implications for salary, pension accrual and other terms and conditions.
In general, civil servants who take up positions within EU institutions transition to the EU employment framework for the duration of their appointment. While certain protections and provisions may apply, full preservation of Irish public service pension arrangements is not typically automatic and depends on the nature of the assignment and the applicable schemes.
The SNE scheme and Attaché opportunities are the only current examples of secondment arrangements in which civil servants transferred from my Department to an equivalent role within the European Union, without impacting their pension and other employment rights. Generally, when an individual is seconded to the EU via the SNE Scheme or as an Attaché, they remain a member of their existing Civil Service pension scheme and continue to accrue their pension entitlements in the scheme of which they are a member and are pensionable in their substantive grade i.e. the grade at which they were employed in the Civil Service.
The Department recognises the value of experience within EU institutions in contributing to skills development, policy insight and strengthening Ireland's engagement at EU level. Existing arrangements, such as secondments and leave of absence, aim to support such mobility where feasible.
