Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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889. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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. [3942/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I recognise the importance of Irish nationals on the staff of EU Institutions, and my Department encourages people to seek opportunities which will improve Ireland’s representation among EU staff.

Implementation of the strategy is ongoing and includes a strong focus on raising awareness of EU careers paths for graduates, support opportunities for SNEs and provision of training for candidates applying for EU roles.

My Department is monitoring opportunities as they arise in order to promote them with its staff and encourage applications. At the moment, we are planning to advertise appropriate SNE posts to the European Commission in the coming weeks, and we commit to support any successful candidates from that process with the appropriate leave arrangements.