Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the take-home points from yesterday was that it could take five to ten years for Ireland to have indigenous domestic capacity to fully fight off cybercrime and yet, in that timescale the whole world will change entirely and there will be new forms of attack and software. We will set ourselves a goal but by the time we get to that goal, it may have passed us out again. A point I made yesterday was if this is what the next decade will look like and if the past fortnight has proved that Ireland may be the soft underbelly of Europe in some ways and we may be open for more attacks, it may be prudent to look beyond our shores to other countries that have a high budgetary spend on cybersecurity and that are allies of ours within the European Union and to lean on them for a bit of support. Senator Craughwell called this a war. It is not a war but it is a conflict of sorts. By leaning on a European neighbour with a well-developed capacity to do this, we would not compromise our neutrality, to call it that, in any shape or form. We would be doing something smart, which would be to view this as an immediate problem that needs immediate redress.

It scares me to think it could take five or ten years. Yesterday, we had a debate about the cost of hiring the helmsman or helmswoman for this organisation. I believe we are getting very caught up in that issue and are not looking at where the next attack could happen. As a former primary schoolteacher, I fear for the sensitive data of many schools on Windows XP and Windows 7. Tusla files could potentially get out there. Worst of all would be if the Garda PULSE system was hacked in some way. Imagine how atrocious it would be, were sensitive files from the local Garda station to be circulating online. Will the Minister of State take on the point there should be some leaning on our European neighbours?