Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
287. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of additional staff employed or that will be employed by her Department directly or under contract for the purposes of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026. [37453/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from 01 July to 31 December 2026 and preparations are continuing to intensify in my Department at headquarters, in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union and across the mission network.
At headquarters in Dublin, 79 temporary Presidency Policy Officers have been recruited on fixed-term contracts to assist with the preparation, planning and execution of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In addition, six temporary translators have been recruited on fixed-term contracts for the duration of the Presidency. Three of these translators will provide Irish language translation and three will provide French language translation.
Across the mission network, my Department has hired 45 additional temporary local staff to date, with five additional local staff to be employed to support Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 25 of these locally recruited positions are based at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium and 25 of the temporary staff are based at other missions overseas.
