Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The point the Deputy makes is a good one. It is not just in the National Cyber Security Centre. It also involves those bodies that will have the responsibility for overseeing the NIS directive. Many people will be looking in the same pool of talent. There is a very significant private sector in our country with an interest in cybersecurity so it is a competitive market for a relatively limited pool of talent. We have grown the National Cyber Security Centre significantly. It has increased dramatically in recent years and we do not see any reason we should not get to 75 by the end of this year. The actual test of it might be whether we have been able to scale up the agency in the past two years since that major attack on our health system and the answer is we have been able to. Many people look to work in the likes of the National Cyber Security Centre because experience in such a high-level working environment and an agency with such a strong reputation internationally as well as here at home is a really attractive thing to have on one's CV. Many people working in the private sector would consider a position within the National Cyber Security Centre. Even though it might not be as well paid as some of the private sector jobs, it brings real gravitas to someone's CV and, as a result of that, we will be able to recruit people.