Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
128. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if there are proposals to participate in a cyber security project at EU level under PESCO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15413/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPESCO is a mechanism provided for in the Treaty of the European Union to enable participating member States to come together and, on a project by project basis, jointly develop military crisis management capabilities for use in support of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations and missions in support of international peace and security.
Ireland is a strong proponent of the important role the EU can play in support of international peace and security and the UN. It is important therefore to remain fully engaged in all CSDP processes. Fully participating in these developments ensures that we have a voice and that we can influence their evolution.
Since Ireland joined PESCO in December 2017 the focus has been to identify key PESCO projects which will enhance the capability and capacity of the Defence Forces to successfully undertake modern complex UN mandated missions, including CSDP operations and on supporting interoperability in this regard. With that in mind Ireland confirmed participation in two PESCO projects - (1) The European Union Training Mission Competence Centre and (2) Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance.
In addition, I have also confirmed Ireland's involvement as an observer on a number of additional projects including a Greek led project on Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform (CTISP). The goal of this project is the effective detection and response to cyber attacks (known or unknown) and it aims to implement a platform, that will include tools, techniques and procedures, in order to improve capabilities to deal with unknown cyber attacks.
Ireland's involvement as an observer in this Cyber project will enable us to keep fully abreast of project developments.
