Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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71. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the Government’s current strategy for aligning Irish defence and maritime security policy with its international obligations, ensuring that infrastructure in Cork including marine cables, ports, ship-yards is resilient in the face of hybrid threats; and the strategy for communicating clearly to citizens and businesses how this evolving posture affects regional risk and opportunities (details supplied). [60377/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Within the European Union, it is accepted that security and defence is a national competence and that any decisions as regards EU defence arrangements, including any deepening of EU cooperation, require unanimity.

The Government is, however, committed to broadening and deepening Ireland’s international security engagement as well as our domestic efforts to ensure the security of our country, including key critical infrastructure throughout the country, as well as allowing Ireland to contribute to efforts towards ensuring international peace and security. Ireland is a strong proponent of the important role the EU can play in this regard.

Ireland is engaged with a number of EU defence-related initiatives and frameworks, including the European Defence Agency, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, the Permanent Structured Cooperation PESCO, the EU Satellite Centre, the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility (EPF).

Ireland’s participation in EU defence initiatives will continue to be guided by a principles-based pragmatism, ensuring that any cooperation respects Ireland’s sovereign decision-making and legal obligations and will be on a strictly voluntary, project-specific basis, having full regard to our traditional policy of military neutrality, as characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in mutual defence arrangements.

Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026 will provide a platform to shape that engagement and ensure that participation in any EU defence initiatives and cooperation with EU partners is clearly aligned with our policy of military neutrality.

Ireland's Individually Tailored Partnership Programme with NATO allows for cooperation in efforts to tackle cyber and hybrid threats, in enhancing resilience, all of which require a whole-of-Government approach.

With regard specifically to maritime security policy, my Department is leading on the development of a National Maritime Security Strategy following identification of maritime security as a priority in last year’s Defence Policy Review due to the assessed threat level, our geographic position, and our responsibility and commitment to support the security and defence of Europe.

This Strategy is being developed in consultation with national stakeholders and will include a focus on enhancing maritime domain awareness and protecting critical maritime infrastructure, especially critical undersea infrastructure.

In support of its preparation, officials in my Department have also undertaken extensive outreach to identify and explore opportunities to cooperate with our neighbouring countries and with international institutions involved in maritime security in order to access examples of best practice and to learn from the extensive experience in monitoring and protecting critical maritime infrastructure that many of our neighbours have developed.