Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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707. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if since 1 January 2020 any officials of his Department, or board or council members of any public body under his aegis or employee thereof, or board or council member of any publicly funded body under his aegis or employee thereof, has received funding from his Department or those bodies in excess of €7,500 to attend any executive education or chartered director education in Ireland or overseas; if so, if full procurement rules were followed in each case; if value for money was considered; if reimbursement in the event of early departure terms were agreed and honoured; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7691/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The table below sets out details of executive education in excess of €7,500 that was undertaken by staff of my Department since 1 January 2020.

The Advanced Leadership Programmes attended in 2023 and 2024 were sourced in line with procurement guidelines. Officers seeking such training would have reviewed options on the market at that time to ensure that the training was relevant and provided value for money. Participation in both cases was approved by the Secretary General of my Department.

The 2024 Senior Public Service (SPS) Leadership Programme was organised by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (DPENDR). The programme was open to all serving Civil Servants at Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Director level. The development initiative was informed through internationally and European based research and benchmarking with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other research and learning institutions.

There was no requirement to facilitate early departure terms for any of my staff.

The information requested by the Deputy regarding public bodies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for the public body themselves. I have referred this query to the bodies under the aegis of my Department and have asked that they respond directly to the Deputy.