Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2023
216. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the extent, if any, to which Defence/protection facilities might be enhanced through Europe given the pivotal geographical location of this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23249/23]
View answerThe EU and its Member States, including Ireland, have strategic interests in identifying and addressing security challenges linked to the sea.
A subgroup of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning (GTF) supported by the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in my Department, was assigned responsibility to develop guidance on critical infrastructure resilience in 2017. The subgroup produced the first guideline document on critical infrastructure resilience in February 2019, which was subsequently revised and updated in July 2021.
While the primary responsibility for safeguarding critical infrastructure rests with its owner or operator, the guideline document provides the methodology for operators of essential services to follow to enhance their resilience. It also outlines that it is the responsibility of each government department to foster links and work closely with the semi-state and private sector operators of critical infrastructure, in their respective policy areas, to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure from a wide variety of threats.
My Department is the focal point for the new European Critical Entities Resilience Directive which aims to enhance the resilience of critical entities that provide services essential for vital societal functions or economic activities in the internal market of the European Union. Officials in my Department are also members of the Critical Entities Resilience Group in Brussels which provides a forum for the sharing of information and best practice between EU Member States and EU institutions.
In advance of the enactment of this Directive and because of the increased threat to critical infrastructure, the Department of Defence is working with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to stress test critical infrastructure in the energy sector in Ireland. These stress tests will be completed before the end of 2023.
In relation to the protection of Ireland’s offshore infrastructure, the Naval Service, as the State's principal sea-going agency, is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. While the main daily tasking of the Naval Service is to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with our obligations as a member of the EU, it also carries out a number of other non-fishery related tasks including contraband interdiction duties, search and rescue, and maritime defence and security operations (MDSO). As such any Naval Service patrol should be viewed as a multi-faceted activity.
These patrols are augmented by the Air Corps Maritime Patrol Squadron in patrolling the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using the two CASA CN 235 maritime patrol aircraft which are equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance and communication equipment.
Following an extraordinary EU Energy Council meeting in October 2022 to discuss the EU’s energy security in response to the attacks on Nordstream 1 and 2, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications sought support from my Department in relation to additional measures that could be put in place by the Defence Forces to ensure that critical off-shore infrastructure including data cables are protected.
My officials and the Defence Forces continue to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in relation to the protection of Ireland’s offshore infrastructure. While the Defence Forces have limited sub-sea capabilities, enhanced maritime patrolling of the Irish Sea in the vicinity of priority offshore infrastructure is taking place by a mixture of air and naval platforms.
Ireland currently participates in two Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects. Under PESCO, Member States come together in different project groups to develop and make available additional capabilities and enablers for peacekeeping and crisis management operations. Ireland is participating in the Maritime (semi) Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures (MAS MCM) project and the Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance PESCO project. Ireland also has observer status on the Harbour & Maritime Surveillance and Protection (HARMSPRO) PESCO project. Ireland has been participating in the European Defence Agency MARSUR (Maritime Surveillance) Project since its inception in 2011.
As a committed EU Member State, Ireland engages with and supports fully the efforts of EU Member States to improve the Union's capacity to respond to the prevailing challenging security environment, including in the areas of defence and maritime surveillance.
