European Union
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Barry Ward (FG), Dún Laoghaire

I acknowledge all of the factors the Minister of State set out. I welcome them all and it is really important that we spread that message. The second part of the Minister of State's response is really important and that is the EU jobs part. I would not necessarily limit it just to the European Union. There are other international institutions within Europe where there is a transmissibility between them and the European institutions. As Chair of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, I visited Luxembourg earlier this year with some colleagues. What is apparent is that there has been a lag in the number of Irish people applying for jobs, and that there are people at the higher levels of management within European institutions who are now coming to retirement and there are not people in the middle level to fill their positions. It is really important, not from the point of view of influence but from the point of view of presence, that there are Irish people around the table when decisions are being made so that the Irish perspective is understood and heard.
The Minister of State made reference to the supports that have been given to people applying for jobs within the European Union. I think we need to formalise that and I have called for this before. We need to push it further than that. We need to have a dedicated unit within the Department of foreign affairs or elsewhere that does not just advertise the jobs and make sure people know about the opportunities that are available, but also explains to them what that package entails because it is not just about pay. It is about conditions and the other things that come with it. It is about what working for a European institution entails, and then also goes that step further of properly preparing them for the jobs. I understand we are not in first place in terms of European Union countries in doing that. Other countries are much more proactive about placing their citizens in an advantageous position as they apply for those jobs. One of the key things we can do to involve the citizens of this country in the opportunities that Europe presents, in addition to all the things I said earlier, is to allow, encourage and enable them to apply for and obtain jobs within European institutions that can then help present Irish perspectives but also share the benefits with the people in this country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09