Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, all e-mails generated within the official systems within Departments sent to any e-mail address whatsoever are retained on the central servers and are amenable to being accessed for freedom of information purposes or any other purpose. There have always been concerns over the vulnerability of communications. Back 20 or 25 years ago the concerns would have related to telephones, mobile telephones and the hacking of mobile telephones and so on. I do not believe we are ever going to have a fool-proof system.

It was believed 20 or 25 years ago that any communication between Ministers here was always subject to oversight by GCHQ in Britain and the CIA. That was always a view. Whether that was true, I do not know, but it would be naive to think that sophisticated external intelligence agencies throughout the world would be unable to listen to any communication if they so wished.

The question of cyber-attacks and cyber manipulation represent a new dimension. Does the degree of priority or urgency correspond to the implications of revelations in the United States? I am not suggesting that those of us in this jurisdiction would be subject to the same focus applied by the Russian Government or any other government to the United States. Anyway, we need to take measures to ensure that, as far as is practicable, we have the best defences that technology can provide.

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