86. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence to provide an update on the drone activity during the visit of President Zelenskyy; to give clarity on the decision to not intercept these drones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72153/25]

Sentiment score: 0.04

A lot of this has been well aired over the past couple of weeks but I have a number of questions. Will the Minister clarify if this is being treated as an act of hybrid warfare? Was air traffic control in Dublin Airport made aware in real time, or as close to real time, of the incident, and if not, why not? When was it made aware and what protocols underpin engagement with air traffic control in Dublin? Are there plans to release some form of footage relating to this to counter false narratives out there up to and including people doubting whether this actually happened? I, for one, believe it happened and believe this is a threat. However, I have concerns that without footage being released in some fashion that those false narratives could take hold and undermine us moving towards a more credible security strategy.

Sentiment score: -0.05

If the Minister does not have the answer now, I would like her to come back on the question relating to when air traffic control in Dublin Airport was informed about this. According to my sources, I understand it was not informed about this and has led to some disquiet about different organisations talking to each other. We have fixed rules regarding drone activity and no-fly zones and for the major airspace to not have been made aware of that is quite concerning. That is not to overstate this because it was a successful visit, but we are trying to hold Government to account and find gaps that need to be improved, not just for the EU Presidency but for our overall security architecture. Again, underpinning all of this is the lack of a national security strategy. I will repeat as often as I can that we need to see that published and we need to ensure we can agree a strategy that works for militarily neutral Ireland in the face of hybrid and other warfare threats.

Sentiment score: 0.16