Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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13. To ask the Taoiseach the membership and terms of reference of the national security committee chaired by the Secretary General of his Department. [8123/23]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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14. To ask the Taoiseach the membership and terms of reference of the national security committee chaired by the Secretary General of his Department. [9673/23]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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15. To ask the Taoiseach the membership and terms of reference of the national security committee chaired by the Secretary General of his Department. [10051/23]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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16. To ask the Taoiseach the membership and terms of reference of the national security committee chaired by the Secretary General of his Department. [10066/23]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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17. To ask the Taoiseach the membership and terms of reference of the national security committee chaired by the Secretary General of his Department. [10250/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 13 go 17, go huile, le chéile.

The national security committee is chaired by the Secretary General of the Government and comprises representatives at the highest level from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Defence, Environment, Climate and Communications, including the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces.

The committee is concerned with ensuring that the Government and myself are advised of high-level security issues and the responses to them. It is not concerned with the detail of operational matters.

As Taoiseach, I am briefed periodically by the Garda Commissioner and by relevant officials on the national and international security situation and on any individual security-related incidents that may arise. I am also briefed periodically by the Minister for Justice on these matters. Relevant Ministers can also brief the Government on security issues within their remit as and when the need arises. Deputies will appreciate that the work of the national security committee is of a very confidential nature and it is long-standing policy not to discuss it in detail, particularly not in a public forum. I believe the reasons for this are self-evident. What I can say is that the committee meets regularly and also meets as may be required by specific events or high-level security concerns when they arise.

The committee's focus is on the main threats to the State's security, including the continuing threat from dissident paramilitaries and religious fundamentalists. We have seen in the past week, with the cowardly attack on a PSNI officer John Caldwell in Omagh by the IRA, the continuing lethal threat that these small groups still present. Given the overall nature of the overall security landscape, the committee has maintained a particular focus on international security and cyber issues.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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As the national cybersecurity strategy mid-term review acknowledges, the security and resilience of network and information systems are vital for Ireland's continued security and prosperity. Critical national infrastructure and essential services rely on complex systems and data flows which are vulnerable to attack by cyber criminals and other sophisticated actors, as we saw recently in Munster Technological University, MTU.

Under the Commission's cybersecurity strategy for the digital decade, the EU has pledged to quadruple its investment in cybersecurity. There are now 489 cybersecurity firms operating in this State. It is the is IT infrastructure of Departments and State bodies that remain of significant concern. Annual investment in this area has been woefully underdeveloped and its infrastructure is now vulnerable. Funding for the National Cyber Security Centre has increased but without significant ramping up of the technology delivering modern integrated networks across the public sector, what is happening is, in effect, building a house without foundation. Will the Taoiseach outline the whole-of-government approach to addressing the investment and technology deficits that remain across large sections of the public service and the planned budgetary investment for the remainder of the term of this Government?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Taoiseach and other Government spokespersons have repeatedly justified the review, to use the language they tend to use, of our neutrality in terms of the threat of cyberattacks. Is that a bit of a ruse, given that they are not looking at the lessons of the biggest cyberattack that happened here on 14 May 2021? Far from suggesting that we should abandon neutrality, or whether this has anything to do with neutrality or our Defence Forces, it is suggested the biggest cyberattack we witnessed was due to the lack of a state-of-the-art, up-to-date computer system in our health service which allowed patient information and corporate documents to be taken. This is connected to the crisis more generally in the health service. Something which has been repeated to me by many healthcare workers is that the ancient and inadequate nature of the computer technology in our health service is the real problem. I am not saying there is no cybersecurity threat but if we do not have decent computer technology and IT systems in places like the health service, not only are we vulnerable to those kinds of attacks but this is also a significant part of the crisis we are facing in terms of health services generally.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I draw the attention of the Taoiseach to the recent Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report showing that at 42 sites, factories and landfills posed a pollution threat to our water sources. The EPA has stated that five of those sites have been put on a priority list for enforcement action after serious and repeated concerns were raised over discharges to local water sources. Of the five, four are in the meat or dairy sector, namely, Kepak Athleague, North Cork Co-Op Creameries, Aurivo Dairy Ingredients and Western Brand Group. The EPA has warned that breaches by food and drink firms threaten the so-called clean and green image of the sector which is crucial to its success. I would argue that part of its success is the light-touch regulation from the State. We need to come down hard on the way food is produced and food quality in this country in the meat producing and dairy sectors, not just for reasons of water quality but also due to the emissions that will harm our CO2 reduction targets.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The matter the Deputy raises is not quite national security-related.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is a matter of national security if we do not have decent water.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It is a bit of a stretch.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies. The Government has invested considerably over the past number of years in the National Cyber Security Centre, which is currently operated at a high state of preparedness and response due to recent cyber incidents and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related cyber and hybrid threats arising from that conflict. The NCSC monitors potential threats and is in ongoing contact with our counterparts in the European Union, the UK, the US and other countries to share information and monitor the impacts of possible threats. The NCSC continues to work particularly closely with the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána and is in frequent contact with operators of critical infrastructure and services to monitor potential malicious and cyber activities. The NCSC provides regular advice to Government Departments and agencies on cyber planning and emergency response requirements and through regular exercises.

Regarding the MTU attack mentioned by Deputy Clarke, cyber threats are an ever present and growing risk to the safe operation of information systems across all sectors and the economy. These attacks are crimes and must be dealt with as such. They very often have an international element.

MTU was subject to a cyberattack and, in conjunction with the NCSE and An Garda Síochána, MTU has worked to identify the extent of the breach, its impact and take actions to deal with the consequences. Specialist forensic services are viewing the nature of the attack and the impacts on the data. An interim High Court injunction has been granted which prohibits the sale, publication, possession or use of any data that may have been illegally taken from the university's systems. Contingency plans were in place for such an event and the MTU core systems, such as email, HR, finance and payroll, were not affected by the breach and have continued to operate.

The cyberattack on the HSE shows that neutrality does not protect us from cyberattacks, nor does it protect us from hybrid warfare. I spoke to a number of experts down the years about cyberattacks and even the most sophisticated and well resourced systems come under attack. That is why we need to co-operate and get help from our allies when it comes to security and defence, cybersecurity and dealing with potential international terrorist threats.

Deputy Smith's question is an important one but, unfortunately, I do not have a briefing on it in this group of questions. I will come back to her in writing.