The European External Action Service (EEAS) is staffed by officials from the EU Commission, the EU Council Secretariat and diplomats from the EU Member States. The Council Decision which established the EEAS in 2010 stipulated that Member State diplomats should represent at least one third of all staff at Administrator (AD) level. On the whole, there has been good progress made towards achieving this “one third” target, with recent figures indicating that the percentage of EU Member State diplomats working in the Service stands at 32.9%. In terms of Irish representation at the EEAS, there are currently seven officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade serving with the EEAS. This represents 2.36% of the total number of EU diplomats working at the EEAS, which is slightly higher than Ireland’s overall percentage of the EU’s population. In addition, there are 37 Irish nationals working for the EEAS including, at the most senior level, David O’Sullivan, who holds the post of Chief Operating Officer of the Service. An Irish national was also recently appointed to the position of Head of Mission in Rwanda. Member State diplomats are free to apply for published posts, including at the level of Head of Mission. Those officers that meet the criteria for an individual post and are shortlisted based on their experience and expertise, are ultimately interviewed by the EU High Representative for the Foreign and Security Policy. The Department takes all reasonable steps to support the candidacies of Irish applicants for EEAS posts. Officers who are offered positions in the EEAS have been and will continue to be granted special leave for the duration of their assignments.
The Government is committed to ensuring that Ireland is adequately represented in the EEAS and indeed in all EU structures. I can assure the Deputy that this subject is kept under regular review.