James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not wish to be derogatory or dismissive, but perspective is key in this. It has to be acknowledged that the people working within this space are extremely committed and working very hard and they have been put through the wringer in the past 12 months, but 44 personnel is fewer people than work in a busy McDonald's restaurant or a major supermarket. For an economy worth hundreds of billions of euros, where we have tens of thousands of people working in the tech industry, is it not the case that we are in a better position than any other small developed economy in the world to bring in experts in encryption and the other people who are necessary?

I have an additional concern with regard to pay. If these people are expected to be paid salaries that are merited for their expertise - what they would get in the private sector is probably many multiples of what they would expect to get working in the public service - has the Department done any analysis from a pay perspective in terms of dealing with this particular issue?