Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, send my condolences to the family of Michael O'Regan. I met him only a few days before he passed away at SuperValu in Ballinteer. He was as feisty as ever and in great form. Everything the Cathaoirleach said about him epitomises the man he was. He would always stop and have a chat in the corridors of Leinster House.

Reading the British newspapers this morning, I must conclude that if there is an annual prize for political hypocrisy, we can close the nominations for 2024 right now. Nothing or no one could beat the Taoiseach telling delegates at the Munich Security Conference last weekend that it is important that the European Union does more when it comes to its own defence. Have colleagues ever heard anything so goddammed cynical in all their life? Most countries in Europe are spending 2% of GDP on security. Ireland is spending 0.2%. What the Taoiseach said is outrageous. The laughter must have been heard all over Europe as he made that statement. We really have to get our act together.

I read this morning about CybExer Technologies in Estonia. I have been involved in a number of delegations to Estonia to discuss setting up cyber awareness programmes in Ireland. I am glad to see that moving forward at pace. There were 493.33 million ransomware attacks in 2022. The number of such attacks is growing exponentially. We really have to get serious about defence. It is not all about military boots on the ground. It is about technology, or the lack of technology, in this country. We have no radar or sonar capability. I spoke to a senior military person in Europe a couple of days ago who observed that Ireland is reforming its Defence Forces. Is there anything we reformed other than the approach to interpersonal relationships, specifically bullying and sexual harassment? This person said to me, "I would love to think we are going to see some actual military reforms taking place." I will leave it at that as the Cathaoirleach has indicated my time is up.