Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the cyber capabilities of the Defence Forces in terms of staffing levels and capability; and the way in which they are currently utilised. [10394/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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For security and operational reasons it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specific cyber capabilities of the Defence Forces.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the way in which he plans to enhance the cyber capabilities of the Defence Forces in view of the increased threat of cyberattacks from criminal, terrorist, and state actors and Ireland's growing reliance on the digital economy. [10395/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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As outlined in the Governments White Paper on Defence 2015, the issue of Cyber Security has very significant implications for governmental administration, for industry, for economic wellbeing and for the security and safety of citizens. Indeed Cyber Security is a standing item on the agenda of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which I chair.

The response to cyber threats remains a whole-of-Government challenge, with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment taking the lead role and with inputs in the security domain from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces are committed to participating, under the leadership of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in the delivery of measures to improve the cyber security of the State.

Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is located in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, provides a range of cyber security services to owners of Government IT infrastructure and Critical National Infrastructure. The NCSC is also home to the national Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE), which acts as a national point of contact involving entities within Ireland, and as the point of contact for international discussions on issues of cyber security.  The scope of CSIRT-IE's activities covers prevention, detection, response and mitigation services to Government Departments and State agencies and critical national infrastructure providers. The Defence Forces provide seconded specialists to assist with the work of this team when resources allow. Also, as in any emergency/crisis situation, once Defence systems are supported, the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces will provide additional support to the CSIRT-IE team in so far as resources allow.

From an operational perspective it would be inappropriate to comment on the cyber capability of the Defence Forces other than to say that there is ongoing development of cyber capabilities within the Defence Forces.