Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
2296. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the resources available to the National Cybersecurity Centre; and when he last met with officials from the centre on its resourcing needs. [34472/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is located within my Department, and is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The Centre has a number of roles, and is responsible for acting as a conduit for information to constituents, including operators of Critical National Infrastructure, Government Departments and Agencies. The Centre also provides expert advice and analysis on cyber security issues and is involved in coordinating the response to significant incidents. The Centre also acts as a central contact point in the event of a government or nation-wide cyber security incident affecting the State, and has a number of formal roles in the protection of Critical National Infrastructure, including those under the EU Network and Information Security Directive, which was transposed in September 2018. I meet with the senior officials with responsibility for Cyber Security regularly.
The NCSC is composed of highly skilled, specialist technical civilian staff, with skillsets in areas such as computer science, software engineering, malware analysis, information technology forensics, cryptography, software development, and cyber security compliance, as well as general cyber security skills. In terms of resources, additional funding has been secured for a substantial enlargement of the NCSC both in terms of personnel and additional technology in order to address the responsibilities placed upon the State by the Network and Information Security Directive. The annual allocation of the National Cyber Security Centre in 2019 is now €4,000,000, and staffing levels have increased significantly in recent years. My Department is also finalising a new National Cyber Security Strategy, which will set out the measures that Government will take to meet future challenges in cyber security.
