420. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of EU Presidency policy and administrative officers now employed on temporary contracts across his Department, in Ireland and abroad; if these individuals can apply to internal civil service competitions for these temporary contracts; the plans being developed to retain these individuals once their contracts cease, given they will have extensive and intimate knowledge of EU and Irish institutional operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54598/26]

My Department and I are committed to playing a full part in delivering a successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

My Department has hired eight temporary Presidency Policy Officers to work on matters relating to the EU Presidency in Dublin. In addition, two Graduate Policy Officers were hired locally on temporary contracts to work on Justice and Home Affairs matters in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels. These officers have been hired on fixed term contracts until the end of Ireland’s Presidency.

Temporary staff can apply for competitions run by my Department or Publicjobs, provided they meet the criteria for the competition at time of applying. While these temporary staff are encouraged to apply for permanent roles in my Department there are no plans to automatically retain these staff at the end of the Presidency.