John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 47: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of additional staff to be employed by the Irish Permanent Representation office in Brussels for the forthcoming Irish Council Presidency; the number of applicants; the number recruited to date; the nationality of those recruited to date; the number of officials to be seconded from Irish Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27261/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Presidency staffing plan for the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels has been prepared following a coordinated and careful evaluation of the needs of all Government Departments and Offices. While the details are not fully finalised, the staffing of the Permanent Representation is expected to temporarily increase by some 80 officers in the lead-up to and for the duration of the forthcoming Irish EU Presidency from January to June, 2013. This number comprises 8 staff assigned from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and 37 from other Departments and Offices, as well as a small number of secondments from other sources.

Separate processes are also underway in Brussels for the temporary local recruitment of approximately 20 interns and 10 clerical staff, of which the greater portion has been sought and will be funded by other Departments and Offices. These posts are open to eligible citizens of the EU and of the other European Economic Area member states – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In excess of 540 applications were received for the intern posts from which, following a competitive interview process involving 60 short-listed candidates, a panel of the 30 candidates deemed the most highly qualified and suitable for appointment was established.

While candidates placed on the panel are now being offered temporary assignments, a breakdown on the basis of nationality will not be available until all appointees are in place. The focus of the recruitment process has been to select candidates with extensive EU knowledge and expertise. Nevertheless, I understand that a large proportion of the candidates qualified for appointment are Irish. In the case of temporary clerical staff, the focus will be on administrative experience and language skills. The closing date for receipt of applications for those posts is 15 June. The contracts of all locally employed staff will terminate at the end of the Presidency in June 2013.