Dr. Mark Mellett:

The Chair has raised a very important point. The issue of maritime security is something that will require close collaboration in terms not just of MARA but also other parts of the State. While this is infrastructure that may well be linked to private developers, it is critical to the State for a number of reasons. First, it may well drive our industry in the context of what is happing on land side. Second, as I have always said, State security is inextricably linked to economic security. If you do not protect the enablers of economics, then you are in the space of having a vulnerability.

I attended the North Sea summit in Belgium not so long ago with the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan. It was quite clear that for every state represented, security for this type of infrastructure was top of the agenda. It is a question that we must get our heads around. As I said, there is the issue of upholding sovereignty. If we are going to enjoy a dividend of the sovereign rights that have been gifted to the State, then we are obliged to uphold those. We will need to further examine how that is done. In most jurisdictions, defence forces have a role in terms of being the symbols of the sovereignty of a state. Ultimately, that is what the flag on a ship is, namely, a sovereign instrument of the state to exercise its authority where there is critical infrastructure. Even though there is significant private investment in some of these developments, there is an obligation on the Irish State to uphold the security of that critical infrastructure because of what hangs off it.