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

It has been a very difficult time for the employees working under Dr. Browne. I am sure his role is currently under a lot of scrutiny, and rightly so. We are in a very different time from three or four years ago. There is more global instability. I think we would all agree on that point. There appears to be an increase in espionage activity in this State. That has proven to be the case with the expulsion of four Russian diplomats. Although not much information on that has been given, it was done in the context of espionage in other European countries, so it is clear that that is going on. Has Dr. Browne confidence that if we were to come under attack again in a similar way to what happened last year, our services, particularly the HSE, would be able to sustain such an attack? Has the NCSC put defensive measures in place that would allow the HSE's IT system to be better protected than it was over a year ago?