Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some of the Deputy's remarks are very disingenuous. He received a reply to a parliamentary question this week relating to military management that on January 2019 the established figure for technical officers in the communications and information service, CIS, corps of the Defence Forces is 22 personnel, that is, 18 Army and four Air Corps, and all posts are currently filled.

The establishment figure for grade 5 and grade 6 technicians in the CIS corps is 202 personnel, out of which there are 66 vacancies at present. A total of 62 personnel are in training across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps who will be eligible to grade 5 technician pay on graduation from the CIS trainee technician scheme.

Cybersecurity encompasses all sections of society, whether it is business, critical infrastructure, large industry or the ESB. It not only about military, it has a joined-up approach and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has overall responsibility for the State's cybersecurity. The Defence Forces assist them and will continue to do so under the service level agreement which is in place.

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