Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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A fair bit of this discussion has been on the shadow fleet, primarily with regard to Russian craft. A few months ago RTÉ reported that 245 shadow fleet vessels passed through the economic zone. Obviously, this is one of the key considerations. One of the issues highlighted by RTÉ at that stage was that, strictly speaking, the flags under which these craft operate are of various countries. Five typical flags of convenience have been identified which are often used and these are the Marshall Islands, Liberia, Malta, Comoros and Panama. Has the Department of Defence requested that the Department of foreign affairs engage with these countries regarding whether it is too easy to obtain a flag of convenience or whether these countries have concerns about ships that are flying under their flags in Irish waters?

Drones are in the media a great deal, unfortunately, due to quite nefarious ends in Gaza and with regard to the flotilla over the past 24 hours and in the past week. They are of potentially utility to the Irish State and the Defence Forces. They could play a role in the monitoring of our seas. Precisely what the balance is I do not know in terms of craft and drones but they could be part of the mix. Does Dr. Stanley have initial observations on this? Does she have any thoughts? I know she will not get into recommendations at this stage but what is the direction of her thinking?