Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 June 2023
54. Deputy James Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the role he and his Department will play in defending and promoting a safe, secure, free and open global cyberspace, with robust telecommunication infrastructures and regulated by international law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28103/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe development of a free, open, peaceful and secure cyber space to facilitate economic and social development is an important objective for this Government and my Department.
As part of the whole-of-Government approach as outlined in the 2019 – 2024 National Cyber Security Strategy, the Department of Foreign Affairs plays an active role on international cyber issues, in close coordination with the National Cyber Security Centre, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and other relevant Government Departments.
The work of this Department primarily relates to leading on Ireland’s engagement with international processes and work-strands, such as the 2021-2025 UN Open-Ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies, EU Cyber Diplomacy and the diplomatic aspects of other international cyber initiatives, including the Counter Ransomware Initiative.
My Department supports international collaboration and capacity building through Ireland’s membership of the Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence in Tallinn, which my colleague Minister of State Burke visited just last month, and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, which Ireland formally joined in January this year.
Recognising the increasingly important role of cyber issues in international affairs, my Department has supported increased staffing capacity on cyber issues in Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU, and is working closely with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to appoint cyber attachés in other key diplomatic missions, starting with our Embassy in Washington D.C.
