2026-05-07

74. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Defence if she will outline the importance of the National Maritime Security Strategy, particularly in relation to protecting critical infrastructure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33263/26]

My question largely focuses on objective 2 of the national maritime security strategy and how we can improve the security and resilience of Ireland's critical maritime infrastructure. Will the Minister outline the importance of the national maritime security strategy, particularly as it relates to protecting critical infrastructure?

I thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this question. Earlier this year, I launched Ireland's first national maritime security strategy. This is the first strategy of its kind in Ireland. It focuses on risks and threats to Ireland's national security and defence as a consequence of the assessed threat level, our geographic position and the fact we have a maritime domain seven times the size of our land domain. There is a responsibility and need for us to protect that domain and the critical infrastructure around it, and also to work closely with our colleagues in the UK, in Denmark, in the Nordic and Baltic countries, France and beyond, in identifying where those potential risks emerge and how we respond to them. Through the new strategy, I am paying particular attention to the security of critical infrastructure in our maritime domain. This is because, as we all know, many major undersea cables land on our shores, come across the Atlantic and transit through our EEZ. They carry significant amounts of global Internet traffic and financial data. From an energy perspective, they are absolutely critical for us. In addition, our energy sector is heavily supported by subsea gas pipelines and electricity interconnectors. The infrastructure is vulnerable to hybrid threats. The same applies to any other country. I stress that with any type of underwater infrastructure, we are all open to the new and evolving types of threats. Vessels from the Russian shadow fleet also present a significant challenge from an environmental perspective. This is something that has been called out significantly. I will outline some of the key actions in the strategy to respond to and be able to combat some of the concerns. First, we will develop the concept of a national maritime security centre, which will deliver a new whole-of-government approach to protect the security of our maritime domain. We will explore the opportunity for Ireland to host or participate in a regional maritime monitoring hub for the protection of critical undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic. We want to strengthen regional partnerships, particularly with our near neighbours. Most recently, I signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK. We have a new memorandum of understanding with France and we are also looking at what other types of European initiatives we could join. We are working more closely with the private sector, which is absolutely crucial when so much of the equipment for underwater cables is from the private sector. We are also developing a comprehensive new legal approach.

I welcome the national maritime security strategy. It is a very positive step forward. With the EU Presidency just around the corner, this defence issue has rarely been more topical. We face potential threats now that we would not have thought of ten, 15 or 20 years ago. The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, for example, puts into perspective how vulnerable we would be if that were to happen to us. The two interconnector gas connections going from Scotland to Ireland will carry 86% of our gas for this winter. The new Celtic interconnector on the seabed between Cork and France when it comes live will have 700 MW of power, powering potentially 450,000 homes. These are all vulnerable. Until we transition to renewable energy sources, they will be vulnerable. Will the Minister elaborate further what is being done to safeguard those particular assets from man-made threats to them?

When I meet colleagues, be it when I was in Poland last week or when we have colleagues visiting here, security is one of the key things we speak of, making sure that, from an economic security perspective, we are focused on it but also when it comes to the potential threats. The Deputy touched on it and mentioned the Russian shadow fleet, not least the fact that that shadow fleet is funding the illegal war in Ukraine. There is also the potential for an economic disaster. With our Presidency coming up, there will be a renewed focus on Ireland and the fact that we have a large number of visits taking place. Then there is also the critical infrastructure, be it our energy infrastructure or the huge amounts of data that are essential for much of our economies here but also that carry data right across the globe. We need to make sure that we have all the infrastructure in place to be able to identify where risks emerge and how we respond to them. The military radar programme coupled with the sonar programme we are developing, the sonobuoys, make sure that we have a full and complete picture of what is happening under our water and above our seas. The close engagement we are having with the UK, France and many other countries and the networks we are feeding into at a European level mean that we have a complete picture of what is happening. We are also making sure we are able to respond to threats as they emerge. I hope to enact before the summer new legislation which will give our Defence Forces even greater clarity in terms of boarding, inspecting and directing ships if they are where they should not be.

I really welcome the co-operation with the UK on this matter. Let us be honest: it has technological capabilities and experience in this area that we can really learn from. That partnership is therefore really welcome. I am Chair of the climate, environment and energy committee, and we had a briefing recently from officials from the French embassy and they really highlighted the issues around the Russian shadow fleet and its proximity in terms of its operations close to our waters or, in fact, sometimes in our waters and the threats they carry. I would welcome, in the context of the Presidency, Ireland really pushing that issue with France to try to prioritise resolving those issues. There are environmental risks associated with the shadow fleet. They are probably the least of the risks but they are there as well because those vessels are so dated. As Chair of the climate committee, I have seen first hand how vital certainty and stability are for energy. The roll-out of the new EU-wide resilience measures that the Minister mentioned and the co-operation with our partners are really important. I would appreciate if we could keep that on the clár for the EU Presidency.

We have a huge amount of talent and a lot of innovation happening here. I think other countries are looking to Ireland and some of the work we are doing. On the same day I launched the maritime security strategy, I awarded a grant of €1 million through our Department to a private company that has been working with a university here. It is developing technology that can scan the seabed, look at gas pipelines and other types of critical infrastructure and identify where risks are emerging and how we respond to them but also maintenance and upkeep where that is needed. There is a lot of innovation happening here in Ireland, and we need to do more. The Deputy will know that our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, is bringing forward legislation to allow companies where there are dual-use opportunities around security and defence to access funding in a way they have not done before. That is really important. What is also critical in the new national maritime security strategy is the development of a forum that will bring together the private sector, Government, State agencies and Defence Forces to look at the overall infrastructure and how we develop, protect, monitor and manage it. That will be a really important way to ensure that everybody involved here in protecting what is critical infrastructure and the security of our State is working together and that we have full sight of what we need to do. Work is under way at the moment, and I look forward to providing further updates.