Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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166. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the absence of a security clearance system for commercial entities in Ireland. [36395/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department administers the current system of personnel security clearance in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, who have statutory responsibility for providing security services in the State. At present this system is available for persons working in sensitive areas of the civil and public service or where appropriate legislative provisions exist.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is a commitment in the Programme for Government to bring the National Security Authority (NSA) under the remit of my Department. The current NSA, which is supported by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, operates on an administrative basis and does not provide for the full complement of security clearances required for commercial entities to access EU and other international classified information.

A project has been established to provide a new statutory NSA under the aegis of my Department. It is a large-scale multi-year complex project with implications for several Departments and bodies. The NSA will be capable of providing the full spectrum of security clearances including personnel and facilities clearances required by Government Departments, public bodies, and commercial entities.

However, I am acutely cognisant of the growing need for a security clearance system for commercial entities in Ireland and in principle I am supportive of an interim ad hoc solution to enable companies to apply for security clearance in certain circumstances pending the establishment of the National Security Authority. My Department has had ongoing engagement with the relevant departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in considering this proposal. This has also necessitated considerable engagement with the Office of the Attorney General on complex legal issues and a review of our applicable data protection obligations in this regard. This work is ongoing at present.