Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to answer the Senator's question, if I may. He asked me whether I was aware of the political consequences of that and I was. Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence determined that this incident fell into the realm of a cyberattack and made the appropriate notifications to An Garda Síochána. I handed my phone over to An Garda Síochána at that point and the National Cyber Security Centre and I took extensive advice from the head of the National Cyber Security Centre on that incident. I remind members that security relating to mobile phones in the context of foreign ministers or prime ministers is an issue of which most people would be aware. It is no secret that Chancellor Merkel would have had her phone hacked as Chancellor of Germany. Unfortunately, in the world we live in today, despite security arrangements, there are some who will try to hack people's phones and access information. I am cautious as a result, which is why I do not hold onto data unnecessarily on my phone.