Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

When we talk about strategy or security policy, we have to begin thinking about the reality of this war. I have friends who have come from Ukraine and friends whose families are still in Ukraine. According to the United Nation’s report, and I am sure the Minister of State is well-aware of this as I have spoken to him about it before, the number of civilian casualties - this is something we are seeing across the world, that is, civilians being drawn into wars they had nothing to do with starting - is devastating. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, more than 53,000 civilians have been killed or injured. These are families and communities. These are my friends' families. It is difficult to see this and to speak to these people. At least 148 civilians were killed in October. Many players on the rugby team I play for are of Ukrainian descent. It is hitting us close to home as we are EU allies.

The recent attacks in October and November triggered nationwide blackouts. What we are seeing with these targets is that we need to look at our own systems and protection. We should look at what Russia has been doing to Ukraine. That is something I continually pushed for last week with the former Minister for foreign affairs, the now Minister for Finance and the Tánaiste, regarding our offshore cables and how we need to protect them and, hopefully, decentralise our energy systems to prepare for this.

To return to speaking about Ukraine, we have to be honest about this. Russia is engaging in hybrid aggression across the Continent, targeting electricity cables and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Europe’s energy infrastructure has become a priority target. We have seen repeated incidents involving Russian-affiliated vessels interfering with various submarine cables. In December 2024, the Finnish authorities apprehended the Eagle S after it cut the Estlink 2 cable between Finland and Estonia. That ship had military grade detection equipment on its hull. That was not an accident; it was a message.

Are we prepared? Our Defence Forces really needs to look into how we can look after our seas. How can the EU, as a whole, protect our energy? This obviously matters for Ireland as an island that depends almost entirely on undersea cables, although we have a lot onshore, for our connectivity, our banking and our economy. These cables carry all of these transactions and if they were to be damaged, it would be absolutely devastating. We need to have back-up protection. If there was hybrid interference or direct sabotage, the consequences would be immediate and severe. As I am sure the Minister of State is well aware, every European warning and Baltic incident tells us the same thing. We cannot assume we are safe simply because we are offshore or because we are not part of a military alliance. Neutrality without capability is vulnerability.

How do we respond? One part is obvious. Our Defence Forces need the capability to monitor, defend and respond to both cyber and physical threats. As a neutral, sovereign nation, strengthening our defence is very important and a necessity. I go back to private wires in the sense that local energy hubs supporting long-duration storage give communities and critical services back-up in case we are attacked. By decentralising supply and removing single points of failure, we make Ireland far more secure against these hybrid attacks.

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