Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Opposition was surprised at the timing of the Taoiseach’s visit to two countries on the edge of the Russian Federation at a time when it has invaded another one of its neighbours. I am not at all surprised and the timing was correct. Today's vote in the Finnish Parliament to join NATO, by 188 votes to eight, is a sudden move but it is understandable from a Finnish perspective. While Ireland may not be on the border of Russia in terms of military activity, we are on the borders when it comes to cyber activity and the attack last year is something everybody in this country was concerned by. Will the Taoiseach outline what the Government learned from the trip? In particular, what did the Government learn about the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, which was mentioned by others, and about the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Finland? While ruling out any decision to join NATO, I would like to see the Government continue to be involved in these type of centres, which prevent cyber activity and threats to our democracy.

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