As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, can the Minister outline what formal defence and security arrangements are currently in place with EU member states and the UK to ensure the appropriate security resilience and defence mechanisms are available throughout the Presidency?

Sentiment score: 0.80

I agree that the maritime security strategy is a great document. One of the lessons of recent years is that threats to national security no longer come solely in conventional military forms. We have seen increasing concerns around cyberattacks, disinformation, threats to subsea cables, as referenced, attacks on critical infrastructure and vulnerabilities in our energy and communication networks. The Presidency places Ireland at the centre of European decision-making and naturally raises our international profile. Against that backdrop, is the Minister satisfied the arrangements currently in place with our European partners and the UK are sufficient to ensure sufficient deterrence, situational awareness and resilience? Furthermore, has the experience of holding the Presidency highlighted any capability gaps that may require deeper co-operation in areas such as maritime security, cyber defence or intelligence sharing?

Sentiment score: 0.20

Quite rightly, as the Minister pointed out, the Presidency has highlighted both the importance of international co-operation and the reality that Ireland cannot currently provide every aspect of its own defence and security requirements. However, let us be fair about that. There is probably no European country that can completely defend itself alone against every conceivable major threat. We are not an outlier in that regard and that is really important to note. Most European states rely on alliances for collective defence. As we look towards the next decade, does the Minister foresee a greater resilience on that structured partnership with the EU member states and with the UK in areas such as airspace security, maritime surveillance, cyber defence and critical infrastructure protection? While the Minister has outlined some specific capability gaps there in terms of increasing the number of ships and helicopters, technology, etc., does she believe that will help us become less dependent on others and more resilient in our own right? Does the Minister have a timeline for when those capability gaps can be closed?

Sentiment score: 0.18