Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It was very thick stuff. Things progress and evolve. That is the nature of these exercises too. Remember, as I said earlier in the earlier statement on the UN, that we are working in Lebanon with Poland and Hungary in POLBATT. There are may be some Maltese too. Interoperability is key.

That is why training and engaging with others through PESCO, the EDA and battle groups, for that matter, are important. Many of the outcomes of the battle group experiences we have had in the past ten or 15 years have meant better equipment and kit and so on, including bulletproof vests, helmets and all of that. We learn from this. It is critical we support these measures.

On the critical seabed infrastructure, the national risk assessment is under the emergency planning structure. It recently completed its national risk register, which included for the first time our seabed infrastructure. Academics from DCU led that risk assessment for the country and we published it recently. It reflects the changing geopolitical environment. The situation in respect of Nord Stream and what happened recently in the Balkans are signs that something which perhaps would not have been contemplated in the past is now very much on the agenda.