Dr. Margaret Stanley:

The Deputy is right that it is a very complex situation at sea with the various zones, including the territorial waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the high seas. Various legal situations apply depending on exactly where a ship is or where some infrastructure is located. A very important part of the strategy will be to have an increased focus on legislation that applies in the maritime environment. From an Irish perspective, it is going to be very important to ensure a consistent approach is adopted in all legislation that deals with these kinds of threats, and that we identify and apply legal solutions to protect the critical undersea infrastructure located in these waters. It is likely to be an important focus of the strategy. As part of this, Ireland is part of the wider international community and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is an international legal instrument that we all work under. Developing innovative or new legal solutions in the context of this convention will be part of the work we will undertake.