Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the Deputy's concerns. The European elections, because they will be taking place across the entirety of the EU, potentially can be undermined by disinformation, fake news and people paying for false information to be used on social media platforms to try to impact the result of elections. The sense across the European Union that we need to work together to combat this activity is strong. The Deputy is correct that in February the General Affairs Council adopted conclusions under which countries have committed to work together to share information and best practice and to red flag issues emerging in one country so that they can be looked for in another country. Ireland is very much part of that discussion. We have a cyberecurity response in Ireland that is active anyway. It is managed by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and is linked to An Garda Síochána when necessary. No one country can combat this threat on its own, particularly in a Union that is as open and border-free as the European Union. For this reason, a collective approach across the European Union, with countries leaning on and learning from each other in terms of best practice, is the approach we are taking.

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