Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make two quick points. The first is that when the national cybersecurity issue arose with the HSE, the committee wrote to all Departments to ask that they isolate cybersecurity costs. The Minister referred to the fact that each Department now has a role in the context of cybersecurity spending. I know the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, is under the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, but has the Department of Transport looked to isolate the costs involved in cybersecurity? The committee wrote to all Departments so that the Estimates, when they come out, will include a heading under which the costs within the Department that are incurred in dealing with cybersecurity are outlined.

The Minister referred to the Commission on the Defence Forces and its recommendations. He stated that all Departments have a role to play in this regard. I do not know whether he or his officials are aware that the Irish Aviation Authority appeared before the joint committee last week to discuss the Russian situation. The presentation from its representatives was excellent; their knowledge was second to none. They were asked about the fact that if planes without permission to come in beyond the 12 nautical mile limit do not have their transponders switched on, the IAA cannot detect them. Does the Minister see a role in terms of the purchase of primary radar equipment? It was a recommendation under the White Paper, as well as the updated one, that the State now needs to make that large investment in primary radar equipment in order that planes can be detected whether they have the transponder on or not. There is an issue that planes can fly very close to our coastline and if the transponder on a plane is not turned on, it undetectable by the IAA or even by the Defence Forces.

The first point is a housekeeping one; I ask the Minister to make an observation on the second point.