Vol. 550 No. 5
85 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the methods, other than direct entry, through which persons who are currently employed in the public service including the Defence Forces, Garda and Prisons Service can transfer to the Department of Foreign Affairs; the number of times this occurred in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9597/02]
There are currently no arrangements in place under which members of the Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána, the Prisons Service or other public service bodies can permanently transfer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and no such transfers have taken place in the past three years. There are currently nine Defence Forces posts and four Garda posts attached to Irish Missions in Vienna, Brussels, Mons, Paris, London, Madrid, The Hague and New York. Assignments to these posts, generally for periods of three or four years, are made on the recommendation of the Minister for Defence or the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform following consultations with the Defence Forces or the Garda authorities as appropriate.
