Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think there are five levels but I cannot swear to that. I am sure the level is currently set at the second lowest level, which I think is called elevated.

As I stated previously, the membership of the Cabinet committee is not a secret and I have just placed it on the record of the Dáil. Aside from the picture that was tweeted, photographers have been invited into the meeting room in the past by the news media, as was a camera from RTÉ, and pictures have been published. The Cabinet committee's discussions are confidential and it is not the practice to answer questions relating to specific issues dealt with by the committee, for example, agenda items, work programmes and terms of reference. I can, however, speak generally about issues of national security and I am happy to do so.

Cybersecurity is dealt with on two levels. The first, the national centre for cybersecurity, had its budget increased in recent times. The Defence Forces also have a role in cybersecurity. We are very aware of what has happened in other countries, whether it is the WannaCry attack which compromised the information systems of the national health service in the United Kingdom, or cyberattacks on parliaments, including the Oireachtas, in recent years. We are very conscious that Ireland has many data centres and a large amount of data is stored here. We need to ensure that, as a country, we are very wise to the risks of a cyberattack and there is greater co-operation at European level on this particular issue. One of the specific discussions we have had around the European Council table has been on what European countries can do in terms of greater co-operation to manage these new security threats such as cyberattacks. We intend to do exactly that and we have also had some initial conversations with the US authorities about how we could share their expertise in and around cybersecurity.

On Deputy Howlin's question on establishing a bespoke security agency, I may be correct in saying that it falls within the remit of the Commission on Future Policing to examine whether we should have a bespoke security agency.

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