Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise Government communications around national security, which is a phrase often used as an umbrella term to avoid engagement on serious issues. On the issue of national security, we have seen serious concerns raised by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, in the past week about the use of Hikvision cameras in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I know the Office of Public Works, OPW, is conducting a review but we require an urgent update given that other parliaments, including the European Parliament, have discontinued the use of Hikvision cameras because of concerns about Chinese surveillance of European institutions.

In the past week, we have also seen a ransomware attack on Munster Technological University, with personal data released on the dark web. The refrain of national security is a vital one in this instance but, unfortunately, it is often used to stymie debate and discussion. The Taoiseach will recall I wrote to him and the Tánaiste on 14 December last about the need for national security briefings for Opposition leaders, as is a common practice in other countries.

I am speaking not just about the issues I have just raised but about other concerns that have come to public attention, such as the involvement of dissident republicans in organised crime, the huge cyberattack on the HSE and very serious concerns about Russian Government operations and possible espionage in Ireland. Again, I have raised with the Taoiseach on several occasions the large number of accredited Russian diplomats located in the Russian Embassy in Dublin. I have raised with him reports that a US State Department assessment estimates Russia has covertly spent more than $300 million in recent years to influence politicians in many countries, including European countries. Personally, since I was named on the Russian sanctions list along with many others in this House, a large number of anonymous, or bot, accounts are now targeting my posts on social media. It is very observable that there is an impact from this.

Does the Taoiseach agree that in a democracy, opposition leaders should be briefed on matters of national security, and put in place a system to do so? When will a new national security strategy be published and will it be debated in the Dáil? Will we get an update urgently from the Office of Public Works, OPW, on the Hikvision issue?

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