Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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554. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures his Department is taking to encourage civil servants in his Department to take or avail of special leave or career breaks, or other forms of leave, to encourage and facilitate Ireland's 2026 EU presidency, the Government "Career for EU" jobs strategy, and the Department's Gaeilge/Irish-language policy and promotion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3941/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Preparations for Ireland’s Presidency have commenced in this Department with officials from the Department attending Inter-Departmental Groups on Presidency Policy Planning and Operational Presidency Planning.

This Department supports the Government initiative "A Career for EU”, Ireland’s strategy to increase Irish representation in the European Union's Institutions and Agencies. The Department currently has two officers in EU Attaché roles seconded to the Department of Foreign Affairs who are serving in the Permanent Representative, Brussels. Additionally, the Department has a Seconded National Expert currently serving in DG Cultural Policy Unit in European Commission and one officer is availing of special leave to work in EU translation services.

Officials from my Department regularly attend the Inter-Departmental Committee on Staffing in EU and International Organisations and continue to promote and advertise opportunities across the Department for Seconded National Expert positions and the National Expert in Professional Training scheme.

In support of the objectives outlined in the overarching 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, various national language strategies and initiatives have been developed and initiated to promote and encourage the use of the Irish language, in the European context. The Digital Plan for the Irish Language 2023-2027 aligns with the priorities of the European Union in terms of the digital transition and provides an overview of the research required to make Irish-language linguistic resources available in the coming years.

The Department supports funding for Irish language courses in third-level institutions in Ireland and a dedicated fund to support the development of Irish language courses in third-level institutions overseas.

Additionally, the Department provides funding for terminology and technology initiatives operated by Fiontar and Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU.

The Internship Scheme in European Union Institutions is administered by the Department in co-operation with the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council, the Committee of the Regions and the Publications Office. The scheme is focused on the provision of opportunities for graduates to acquire work placements in the special subject field of translation and proof-reading.

The National Centre of Excellence for Careers in the EU plays a key role in having a coordinated approach to the education of students wishing to work in the EU institutions. The Centre, with the support of the Department, has translated the EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) manual entitled ‘The Ultimate EU Test Book Administrators 2020’ into Irish. This handbook is particularly useful for candidates who wish to apply for future EPSO competitions. The Department has provided €32,790 for this project.

The ‘Aistritheoirí Óga' (Young Translators) translation competition is organised jointly by the Department and the European Commission each year. The competition has three goals: to promote a high standard of Irish, to encourage multilingualism among secondary school students and to encourage their interest in careers with Irish. The 2025 competition will take place on the 6th March 2025.

In conjunction with DG Translation of the EU Commission, the Department holds an annual seminar focusing on employment opportunities with the Irish language in the EU institutions. This event is held as part of the Oireachtas na Samhna cultural festival each year at the beginning of November and includes hands-on training from experts in fields such as translation and conference interpreting as well as presentations on aspects of the professions concerned and on life for Irish people who live and work in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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555. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of requests to his Department that have been granted for various matters (details supplied); the number of such requests that have been refused; and the grounds on which they have been refused. [2499/25]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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632. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures his Department is taking to encourage civil servants in his Department to take or avail of special leave or career breaks, or other forms of leave to encourage and facilitate Ireland's 2026 EU presidency, the Government "Career for EU" jobs strategy, and the Department's Gaeilge/Irish-language policy and promotion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3937/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 632 together.

My Department is committed to staff development and promotes several EU related programmes each year. Staff are encouraged to apply for opportunities in the EU through the National Experts in Professional Training (NEPT) and Seconded National Experts (SNE) programmes as well as the shorter Erasmus for Officials programme. These roles are generally facilitated through special paid leave as the EU experience gained by officials is invaluable to my Department, particularly as Ireland's EU Presidency draws closer. My Department currently has two participants working in the European Commission under the SNE programme and one more staff member who is availing of special leave as their partner is working on an overseas DFA posting. A staff member who was on Special Leave while working in the European Commission's translation directorate took up a permanent role there in late 2024.

My Department has not refused any requests for special leave for these purposes.

My Department has a wide range of EU related policy areas and we look forward to playing a full and active role in the 2026 EU Presidency. Staff will be given every opportunity to get involved in the appropriate ways in the run up to and the duration of the Presidency.

My Department's training unit, through the One-Learning portal, offers training classes in professional Irish to staff during working hours. In addition my Department has assigned an Irish Language Officer and a single point of contact to conduct awareness campaigns to help staff understand their obligations under the Official Languages Act, and to encourage staff to speak the language through comhrá Gaeilge groups and cultural events.