Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. I welcome the fact that officials from his Department are working in the European External Action Service. It is always important that there are Irish people working in the various institutions of the European Union. On a slightly different issue, following the accession of the ten countries in May 2004, recruitment to the EU institutions was confined largely to those new member states. This is a time when we want to renew more candidacies for positions within the European Union institutions.

Given that Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council, has the European Parliament raised with the Tánaiste its severe criticism of the European External Action Service?

It was described previously as totally ineffective in international relations. The Parliament questioned its large budget, which amounted to €449 million in 2012. It was very critical of that and in April of this year, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee called the service top-heavy and slow to react to crises and stated it is marked by too many decision making layers. That parliamentary committee also stated the EAS is being poorly managed, saying it has become apparent the EU is unable to ensure in the short-term a reallocation of resources, including staff, to match new political priorities. Has that issue been raised with the Tánaiste in his dialogue with the Parliament? Is it an issue of concern? It is an EU institution and we want to see it work as effectively as possible on behalf of the EU.

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