Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have just finished my apprenticeship in the Department of Justice and I am very aware of the issues the Deputy has raised about cybercrime, cybersecurity, how much crime is now moving online and the need for vigilance. The education sector needs to respond by providing opportunities for people in the public sector and in industry to develop the skills to respond. We also need to use the agency Skillnet Ireland, which can go into employers, including small and medium enterprises, and provide them with the training opportunities they need. I am grateful for the work Skillnet Ireland is doing. The Deputy's basic premise is that we need to be doing even more in this space, taking examples of good practice and embedding them across the sector. That is absolutely right and true. I will undertake to work on that.

I know the Deputy is passionate about the issue of all-island approaches to education, as I am. This year will see the first all-island apprenticeship developed. We are going to start seeing medical education provided on an all-island basis. There is no reason we cannot be doing some of this cybersecurity stuff in that all-island space. I am certainly happy to investigate the possibilities in that regard.

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