Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right. I can assure him that it will be all of those things and it will be multifaceted. Certain Departments have primacy in terms of their direct responsibility for the security of the State and the country. My Department and the Department of justice are obvious ones in that regard. However, all Departments and all agencies have a role to play. That is why I think it is so appropriate that this work is co-ordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach, the ministerial council on national security is chaired by the Taoiseach and the national security secretariat resides within the Department of the Taoiseach. That convening role and ability to pull everybody together on this is both welcome and necessary. I will seek a note for the Deputy on this. I assure him that seeking external expertise, particularly international experiences and how we can learn from other jurisdictions, is very much under way. I see this very clearly in my own Department with the issue of maritime security. We are looking at what other coastal nations have done and making sure we can learn from best practice.

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