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

I will start by responding to the questions about cyberattacks and cyberterrorism. The director of the National Cyber Security Centre attended the Cabinet subcommittee meeting last week and gave us a presentation on the work of that centre, what is being done and what more needs to be done. Deputies will understand why I cannot disclose what is being done and what more needs to be done. It is a relatively new centre, based in University College Dublin, UCD, and has approximately 20 members of staff. It is fair to say there are real risks to information and data held by public bodies such as the HSE, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection when it comes to cybersecurity and cyberattacks. We saw the impact of the WannaCry attack on the National Health Service, NHS, which thankfully we avoided in Ireland. Given the many technology companies and data centres based in Ireland, we do have a particular responsibility to enhance and increase our actions in this area.

On the cyberattacks, over recent years, having identified cybersecurity as an issue of national importance, we have steadily been building our cybersecurity capacity to ensure the State is protected against threats of security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the network and information systems of critical national infrastructure operators and providers. The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment published a national cybersecurity strategy 2015-17. That formally established the National Cyber Security Centre, which is now up and running. It is focused on the protection of critical national information infrastructure in sectors such as energy, health care, financial services, transport, drinking water supply, digital infrastructure and communications. Recent cybersecurity incidents that have occurred globally were responded to and contained in Ireland but there was no cause for complacency. By comparison with other jurisdictions the impact in Ireland has been limited.

Significant progress has been made in transposing the EU directive on the security of network and information systems. That includes measures such as establishing a list of potential operators of essential services, OES, and the Department has published a consultation paper on the proposed security measures and incident reporting guidelines that these entities, once formally designated, will have to meet. It will be on them and their obligation to provide such security but we will oversee it. Work is progressing on the second area of legislation regarding the transposition of the directive and that will be finalised in quarter 1 of this year. The current threat assessment for Ireland continues to be moderate. That is, an attack is considered possible but not likely.

The European Committee on Social Rights has considered a complaint submitted in 2014 by the European Organisation of Military Associations, EUROMIL, on behalf of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, concerning the lack of certain rights for military representative associations in Ireland. Having considered the submissions made in 2015 and early 2016, the committee published its findings yesterday. The committee concluded that prohibiting military personnel from the right to strike was not a breach of the European Social Charter but that the charter was breached in prohibiting the representative associations from affiliating with the national employee organisations such as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and in respect of the right to bargain collectively. The Government acknowledges the committee's findings and specifically the conclusion that the prohibition on the right to strike for members of the Defence Forces is not a violation of the European Social Charter. The taking of any form of industrial action is irreconcilable with military law, which is critically important for security and for the Defence Forces so that they are not restricted in undertaking their operations.

Since the submissions which were the basis for the decision were made, the Government has taken steps to begin to deal with these issues. The representative associations were invited to make submissions to the Public Service Pay Commission and were involved in the most recent pay negotiations that led to the Lansdowne Road agreement or its latest iteration. The Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, has commenced a review of the Defence Forces conciliation and arbitration scheme. That is being chaired by Mr. Gerard Barry and PDFORRA is participating in that. At the Minister of State's direction, the terms of reference require that the review now consider the committee's findings from yesterday. This is the appropriate forum in which to consider the issues that arise from the committee's decision. The Minister of State has also recently announced a review of the schemes and an initial meeting with the parties to the scheme will take place on 26 February 2018. The committee's findings will be considered as part of that approach.

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