The following issues of European relevance fall under my responsibility:
Policy development, management and implementation of Ireland's EU Structural Funds Programmes under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) including co-ordination of all EU Funds and promoting Ireland's interest in the debate on future EU Cohesion policy;
Representation of Ireland in eGovernment/ICT related activities at EU level, including the Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations (ISA) EU programme 2010-2015 and participation in the EU Commission's eGovernment Benchmarking Exercise;
Participation in the EU Working Group on Staff Regulations — effectively the pay and conditions of EU officials, which is up for renewal next year;
Participation in the European Public Administration network (EUPAN) — EUPAN is an informal network of the Directors General responsible for public administration in the Member States of the European Union and the European Commission.
Currently, there are 1 Principal, 4 Assistant Principals, 2 Higher Executive Officers, 2 Executive Officers and 1 Clerical Officer dealing with EU Structural Funds Policy. In addition, 2 Assistant Principals, 1 Administrative Officer and 1 Executive Officer who, as part of their brief, also deal with EU policies relating to eGovernment and associated programmes. 1 Assistant Principal is involved in work on the Group Statut which requires attendance at approximately 12 meetings in Brussels/Luxembourg each year. All staff dealing with EU related issues are based in Dublin.