Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Tánaiste. Tá sé iontach le cloisteáil go bhfuil an obair sin á déanamh aige. It is great to see the Tánaiste is working collaboratively with the Defence Forces to establish this new unit but we need to see our Defence Forces equipped, trained and empowered to meet these real threats. I ask the Department to meet the universities, one of which, DCU, I just left. They are developing new courses but to develop the talent in our population to work in these new Defence Forces offices we need to introduce new courses which are constantly evolving. As happened when the HSE was hacked, I ask the Minister to look into all Departments across the board to make sure they are running with up-to-date systems that are adequate and working. It is about building long-term resilience at every level of the State. I thank the Tánaiste. I would like to see this being done quickly and effectively, given the emerging threats that are ever-growing in this climate.

See this speech in context