Relations with the EU/Representation at EU level

The European Union Division of the Department of An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) supports the Taoiseach in his role as a member of the European Council, and supports the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the exercise of his overall responsibility for the co-ordination of EU affairs. The division also assists the Minister of State for European Affairs. The division works to promote coherence across policy positions taken by Ireland in relation to EU matters and to monitor progress made in relation to major horizontal policies.[1]

On behalf of the government, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government nominates the nine Irish members to the CoR, as well as nine alternates. Nominations take into account geographical, gender and political considerations, with all Regional Assemblies represented. All Irish members of the CoR are elected members of their Local Authority and automatically become members of their Regional Assembly, where that is not already the case. The Irish Delegation has agreed a pairing and rotation system to maximise the engagement of alternate members in the work of the CoR. The Irish Delegation is one of the stakeholders contributing to the national response to the annual National Reform Programme prepared by the Department of An Taoiseach. The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly provides the secretariat to the Irish Delegation, through its Irish Regions European Office (IREO) and provides logistical, research and policy support.

The IREO is based in Brussels and also represents the three Regional Assemblies and 31 local authorities of Ireland. It operates as part of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly with the support of the Department for Housing, Planning and Local Government, with the IREO focusing on bringing the EU closer to the wider local government sector and vice versa.

Besides being in charge of the secretariat for the Irish Delegation to the CoR, the IREO functions include monitoring and reporting on the latest developments in relevant EU policy fields; providing analysis and advice to facilitate the active pursuit of funding from the programmes managed by the European Commission; and other representational, networking and liaison functions enabling Irish Local Authorities and Regional Assemblies to further their interaction with the EU Institutions and with counterparts elsewhere in Europe.

An eight-person national delegation is represented in Congress of the Council of Europe. The Association of Irish Local Government is also a member of the Congress of the Council of Europe. The Local Government Management Agency, a state agency of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is represented on the Council of European Municipalities and Regions[2].

[1] See the Department of the Taoiseach website, https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/9b3ba8-european-union-division/ (accessed 26 May 2020).

[2] From the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe website (accessed 26 May 2020).