Professor Barry McMullin:

Yes, the Deputy asked about the attack profile in the very extreme geopolitical scenario. The committee might need experts from quite a different source to comment on that vulnerability. I certainly have no expertise in submarine warfare. I have looked a little bit at the reports on the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. It was quite sophisticated and the potential actors who are capable of doing that are not very many. Obviously, that sort of attack is easier to execute, the shallower the water is. If somebody was targeting the Irish pipeline, they would be more likely to come as close to shore as they could on either the UK or Irish side, and more likely the Irish side since we have less defensive and monitoring capability in that respect.

I am subject to correction by military hardware experts, but I would be surprised to hear that a geopolitical actor with the capability to do that could not attack in port and liquefied natural gas, LNG, facilities successfully.