Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleagues, I would like to welcome the ambassador, H.E. Aino Lepik von Wirèn, on this the Estonian national day and share with her our concerns around the unwarranted invasion of Ukraine by Russia and to make very clear from these Houses and this country that we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We have seen troops and military vehicles from Belarus entering Ukraine and it is now very clear that the dictators that are Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko do not respect the rule of law or international agreements. We need to make clear that Ireland and Europe’s quarrel is not with the ordinary people of Belarus and Russia but with their leaders. This is a battle for democracy, for human rights and, in many ways, as referred to by the Leader, it is Europe’s defining moment.

Very strong action has to be taken at European Union level. I support cutting Russia off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, SWIFT. This is something the Baltic states have sought. I said yesterday that all oligarchs and their families with links to Vladimir Putin in the European Union should have their visas withdrawn.

I spoke yesterday about the food security implications of this conflict but today I raise the potential for cybersecurity attacks. Ireland and Europe need to be braced for cyberattacks. These will either be state-sponsored or state-tolerated by Russia. Ukraine is already experiencing distributed denial-of-service attacks and we know that Russia has used cyberattacks in the past.

This is Estonia’s national day but Estonia knows that in 2007, when it had a dispute with Russia, that there were a series of co-ordinated cyberattacks emanating in Russia and directed against it. It is part of the Kremlin’s playbook. It used it against Georgia in 2008, when it annexed Crimea in 2014, and we know about Russian interference in the American elections and in other areas. We should not forget that the largest attack ever on a health service anywhere in the world was on the HSE last year and that it emanated from Russia. I raised in this House before the question about our cyber capabilities and defence.

I refer to the National Cyber Security Centre.There are plans to upgrade and provide additional staff but it is not adequate to meet the potential of some of these attacks. I have also said Ireland should take part in the permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, groups and co-operate with European neighbours to deal with questions around cybersecurity and cyberterrorism. We should have no doubt that because European countries will stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Ukraine, Russia will seek to deploy its playbook and engage in cyberattacks. We need a full and proper debate around cybersecurity.