Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Tánaiste is aware, the nature of national security has fundamentally changed.

We are no longer talking solely about traditional military threats but, rather, hybrid threats, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, energy security, technological vulnerability and foreign interference. The world has moved at pace, from the war in Ukraine and the instability in the Middle East and particularly in Gaza, right through to malign actors targeting critical infrastructure across Europe. Ireland still remains exposed. Our neutrality must not be mistaken for complacency. A small, open economy such as ours is deeply vulnerable to economic, technological and political shocks. However, we have strong foundations and it is important to get that across. We are not lame ducks. We have An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and an emerging intelligence capacity. These need to be fully integrated under the national security strategy, as the Tánaiste mentioned. We should not be simply reactive, but genuinely anticipatory and robust in our preparations.

See this speech in context