Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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133. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence 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. [3943/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Preparations in my Department for the 2026 EU Presidency have already begun. My Department will be leading on matters related to the Defence sector and this will involve significant work both for those based in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels and for those based in Ireland. As part of workforce planning, my Department has sought initial expressions of interest from all grades across the Department who would be interested in being involved in work related to the EU Presidency.

In relation to facilitating civil servants in my Department to take or avail of special leave or career breaks, to encourage and facilitate Ireland's 2026 EU Presidency, special unpaid leave may be availed of under the provisions of Circular 33/1991 in order to serve with the EU and up to five years unpaid leave to serve with an international organisation of which Ireland is a member. Special leave to serve with the EU may be granted for a maximum of ten years or up to the minimum retiring age, whichever is the shorter.

Ireland's 'A Career for EU' strategy sets out a series of measures that aim to significantly increase the number of Irish officials in both permanent and temporary positions within the EU Institutions. My Department currently provides a number of staff that are based and working in the Permanent Representation in Brussels to support Ireland's engagement in the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy and the related EU institutions, including the European External Action Security, the European Defence Agency and the European Commission. To this end, officials from the Department are assigned to the Political and Security Committee (PSC) delegation within the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union. A number of the staff also, as part of their role, support Ireland's engagement in NATO Partnership for Peace through the PfP Liaison Office in Brussels.

The National Experts in Professional Training (NEPT) programme is a bi-annual training scheme and provides officials with a first-hand experience of working in the European Commission. The skills and experiences acquired by Irish officials during their traineeship also have the potential to benefit Departments and facilitate greater understanding about the functioning of the European institutions. Participation in the programme is also in line with the Government’s overall EU engagement strategy including that of raising the numbers of Irish officials serving in the EU Institutions, and this Department regularly encourages officials to apply for placement when the opportunity arises. My Department also facilitates secondments under the Seconded National Expert (SNE) programme when vacancies for positions in the European Commission arise.

The Department of Defence is committed to fulfilling the obligations set out in the Official Languages Act, 2003 and the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 2021, with regard to the level of service provided through Irish. In 2023, the Department appointed a member of staff from senior management to oversee the performance of, and report to the Head of the Department in relation to, its obligations under the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 2021. In addition to meeting the Department’s commitments, staff received training at various skills levels to improve the provision of public services through the medium of Irish. The Department will continue to ensure that these provisions are met.

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

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department granted one request in 2024 to take up a temporary post in an EU Institution. My Department has not refused any such requests in 2024.