Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2026. During the Presidency, Ireland will be responsible for driving the EU policy agenda and advancing work on EU legislative and policy initiatives. Irish Ministers and officials will chair many EU meetings and will represent the Council in its relations with other EU institutions.

Delivering a successful Presidency will require extensive preparatory work and significant resources. My Department has been tasked by Government with taking forward both policy and operational planning for the Presidency, in close consultation with the Department of Taoiseach. Two new Inter-Departmental Groups, focused on policy and operational aspects of Presidency preparations respectively, are meeting regularly with participation from all Government Departments.

Our policy priorities for the Presidency will reflect the areas in which we judge that Ireland can best advance a positive policy agenda for the Union and its citizens. Our policy programme will be developed against the backdrop of the EU’s new Strategic Agenda for 2024-29 and the work programme of the new European Commission which will take office later this year.

My Department is currently working with Departments across Government to plan the range of meetings and events to be hosted by Ireland during the Presidency, and to establish the resource requirements, including staffing needs, arising from the Presidency role. This work is being informed by consultations with other EU Member States and with the EU Institutions.

The 2026 EU Presidency will be a major undertaking for Ireland and a key focus for the work of Government in the years ahead. We have a proud record of success from our previous Presidency terms, and I am confident that we will again be able to make a significant and positive contribution to the EU through our Presidency in 2026.