Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All of the right people are in the right place in responding to these criminals. Cybersecurity is not something new. Every state, system and private sector operator is facing cybersecurity threats and attacks on an ongoing basis. That is my first point.

My second point is that in the last budget alone we trebled funding for the NCSC. We trebled funding for it. More than that, it has not been rudderless as Deputy Tóibín stated. That is a wrong phrase to use. It has not been. There is a vacancy that is being filled. The person could not take it in February, having been vacant since November. It is not without a home. We need less of that sort of melodramatic presentation. That is grist to the mill to those who are attacking the system. We have very good capacity within our system in terms of the quality of the personnel available to deal with this issue. It has been dealt with in the correct manner: contain the problem, remedy, restore and protect. That is what we are about with both the NCSC, and the HSE in terms of restoring services. The chief executive officer of the HSE has long experience in this field from different employment he was in. Our overriding objective is to get service up as quickly as we possibly can for patients. We must do it methodically and properly in a way that is robust against further attack. That is why, unfortunately, it will take time to get services fully restored, but we are prioritising key areas, as Deputy Tóibín knows.

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