Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
157. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence what steps have been taken at national and/or EU level to protect undersea cabling in the Atlantic or elsewhere, which might have an impact on EU and international security; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42084/23]
View answerThe 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, Eamon Ryan, TD, 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 their Defence Forces colleagues continue to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in relation to the protection of Ireland’s offshore infrastructure.
We have witnessed a fundamental change in our security environment in the last year with a renewed focus on maritime security and the protection of subsea cables. Protecting them on an ongoing basis on our own, is not a task that Ireland can shoulder alone. It requires international cooperation, shared responsibilities, and mutual trust.
Ireland is a strong proponent of the important role the EU can play in support of international peace and security and of the UN. It is essential, therefore, that Ireland remains fully engaged in all CSDP processes and contributes fully to the development of the policy in order that we can influence its evolution. It is in this context, we have been enhancing our engagement with the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which we joined in 2017.
Ireland is engaged in three PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) projects which aim to identify gaps in capabilities and develop a technological solution for the protection of undersea infrastructure, sea lines of communication and harbour protection. Ireland is a participant in the PESCO Project Maritime (Semi) Autonomous Systems Counter Measures and the PESCO project Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance; and has observer status on the Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection project. Ireland is also involved in a European Defence Agency project Maritime Surveillance (MARSUR) Networking - Operations Support & Development (MARSUR III). The priority of this project is the transmission of data between Navies in relation to vessels, the marine environment, infrastructure, in real time.
