Statement of Strategy 2025 - 2028 Introduction from the Secretary General

It is a privilege to present this Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2028 to the Minister in accordance with the requirements of the Public Service Management Act 1997.

The Strategy identifies the Department’s six strategic goals for the next three years and sets out how we will deliver the Minister’s priorities and commitments in the Programme for Government.

Setting out the Department’s strategic direction helps to focus our attention on what matters most – delivering on our vision of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland.

Following the formation of the Government this year, the Department is significantly larger. We have welcomed new colleagues and taken on additional responsibilities for integration, accommodation for international protection applicants and those fleeing the war in Ukraine, and cyber security policy as well as responsibility for the National Cyber Security Centre, a vital element of the State’s security architecture. This Strategy integrates these new functions into the core of what the Department does.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Leading the Presidency for the Justice sector will be a significant demand on the Department but one that we very much look forward to. It also represents an opportunity to put Ireland at the centre of European decision making and advance our priorities in justice and home affairs. This Strategy’s fifth goal recognises this now rare opportunity and the Department’s ambition to maximise our impact through cooperation with counterparts across Europe for mutual benefit.

Measuring the Department’s performance and progress on priority commitments is essential. For that reason, the Strategy commits the Department to developing a new set of performance metrics. We will also prepare an annual statement of priorities to ensure delivery of all of the priorities set out in this Strategy.

I want to thank all my talented, dedicated colleagues in the Department and the wider justice sector for the vital work they do each day on behalf of Government and the public we all serve. They work with tireless commitment on some of the biggest challenges facing the State, and with an unrelenting dedication to living our values and striving towards our vision of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland.