Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of civil servants from his Department who are based in the European Commission working in the relevant permanent representative offices; their titles and functions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3824/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to the Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels.

My Department has five staff on secondment to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, i.e. two Counsellors and three First Secretaries working in the Permanent Representation in Brussels.

The role of the Permanent Representation Brussels (PRB) is to represent Ireland's position on a wide variety of topics to the EU Council, the Commission, the European Parliament and other Member States and to keep the Department informed of relevant developments.

The PRB comprises of staff that have been seconded from all Government Departments. The primary function is to serve the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), other key EU Committees, Working Groups and to liaise with EU Affairs Section and relevant Policy Sections in the various Departments. The 5 representatives in the PRB from my Department are working in the area of Trade, Company Law, Consumer Issues, Competition, Research and Development, Intellectual Property and Patents, Industrial Policy, State Aids, Internal Market and Employment.