Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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181. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when training will be made available to Ministers in advance of their JHA Council meetings chair responsibilities under Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency. [31751/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As part of the preparatory process for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union next year, my Department is taking forward work on a number of training initiatives. These initiatives are intended both to provide general orientation on the work of the Presidency, and to support the preparations of Ministers and officials who will play specific roles in the management of the business of the Council during the Presidency, including chairing meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies. The programme of training involves both initiatives at a national level and a series of training seminars delivered by the General Secretariat of the Council.

As part of this programme, the General Secretariat of the Council will offer seminars for Ministers who will be responsible for chairing Council meetings during the Irish Presidency. These seminars will address the practical and procedural aspects of the Presidency’s role as well as the specific policy issues to be addressed by the relevant Council configuration. Reflecting the standard timelines recommended by the General Secretariat of the Council, it is anticipated that the relevant seminars will take place in the six month period immediately preceding the start of the Irish Presidency on 1 July 2026.