Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies who have raised issues. I will make a general comment. This question related to the national security committee, national security council and national security strategy, not foreign policy. This is welcome. I established a national security council as Taoiseach to try to bring greater democratic accountability on matters pertaining to national security. It is up to people to raise what they like at different times. However, there is a logic in trying to focus on core security issues as opposed to foreign policy issues which we debate elsewhere in the House, just to make that overall point.

Deputy Ó Cearúil was first. On cybersecurity, the National Cyber Security Centre is coming in under the Minister for justice. This is a welcome move. The centre was under communications, climate and all that area. It belongs to a national security framework and it will be under the Minister for justice. The director is on the national security council. The Deputy's point is well made in terms of the rise of AI and the impact it will have on more sophisticated and perhaps more regular cyberattacks on companies and State enterprises. We have to be extremely vigilant. Cyber warfare is the biggest problem we have in cybersecurity. Many companies face cybersecurity attacks on a regular basis. We have to build up expertise. We also have to work with others. We cannot do it on our own. We have to work with other countries on cybersecurity in terms of expertise and sharing experiences. When the cyberattack on our health service happened, Poland and the United Kingdom were on to us immediately. Poland had experience with the Conti group, which carried out the attack on our health service. There will be collaboration with other countries and we do need constant engagement with other countries across the European Union and beyond in respect of cybersecurity threats to all law-abiding states. I just want to make that overall point.

On Deputy Bacik's points, I am not going to comment on Garda operational issues. The national security council committee will not be dealing with operational matters of An Garda Síochána in terms of what happens on a day-to-day basis. It is looking more at threats to the State from third party actors, which could be countries or individuals who could be doing certain things that could endanger or cause a risk to the security of the State. On the issue Deputy Kelly raised, I responded in the Dáil and the Minister for justice is responding as well. In terms of that meeting which the Deputy did raise again last week, I will ask the Minister for foreign affairs and will have to come back to the Deputy on it.

Deputy Coppinger raised what are essentially foreign policy issues. Our security strategy is not beholden to the European Union. It is very much fundamentally about national security, protecting our own citizens from any undermining of our security, via cyber security attacks, subsea cable attacks, hybrid attacks, misinformation on social media, or terrorist attacks, although they are low in terms of possibility here, but nonetheless all those areas-----

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