Carol Nolan
Ceist:199. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the response of his Department to the Ukrainian war crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13728/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 10 March 2022
Ceisteanna (199)
Freagraí scríofa
The invasion of Ukraine has had tragic humanitarian consequences, the full impact of which are continuing to unfold and Ireland, with our EU and other partners, is committed to taking action to help Ukraine and its people.
My Department is currently working with other Government Departments in respect of estimating potential resources that may be required to address the refugee crisis and the impacts on public expenditure. A team has been established within my Department to coordinate this input to Government planning and Ireland’s overall response. The Secretary General will participate in the weekly meetings of Secretaries General of Government Departments, which will monitor developments and coordinate necessary actions, and provide weekly reports to Government.
The effects of the conflict and the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus are being kept under close review, both in terms of the overall fiscal impacts and for key areas under the remit of my Department.
The Office of Government Procurement in my Department is monitoring the implications of war in the region for supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures. Russia and Ukraine are significant suppliers of natural resources and raw materials, with potential sustained impacts on energy, production and distribution costs, in addition to potential impacts on supply.
Further, the Office of the Government Information Officer (OGCIO) has worked very closely with the National Cyber Security Centre to strengthen the public service protection against cyber-attacks. These activities include:
- Running a programme of education and issuing regular reminders to staff;
- Producing and advising on new baseline security standards for public service bodies;
- Implementing additional protection on Government Networks;
- Implementing additional protection on our shared infrastructure;
- Increased blocking of categories of email attachments that are deemed a security risk;
- Increased blocking of web traffic that are deemed a security risk;
- Regular meetings with our supply chain and key partners;
- Reviewing our contingency plans, risk register and our mitigation strategies;
- Increasing overall monitoring in this area, including broadening this monitoring to include further threat intelligence feeds; and
- Implementing appropriate updates to controls and measures in an expedited manner.
My Department has Member State responsibility for a number of European Union funds including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU). My officials are currently engaged with the European Commission and relevant officials of other EU Member States to allow more flexible use of existing EU funds so that such funds can be allocated to measures targeted at refugees. Any such flexibilities will require change to European Union regulations and are therefore being advanced and agreed at European level.