Govt, UK set up protocol to report subsea cable incidents

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee has confirmed that a new subsea cable incident reporting protocol between Ireland and the UK has been put in place.

Both countries have recently tested a joint response to cable disruption through a ''tabletop exercise'' known as Eastern Pearl.

The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport established the Subsea Communications Cables Industry Forum, which is comprised of Government and cable operators.

Minister McEntee told delegates attending a maritime security conference taking place in Dublin that subsea cables traversing Irish waters carry a significant portion of the world's internet traffic and that the network is more vulnerable than ever because of the increased hybrid threats from Russia.

''Our maritime domain is seven times the size of our land area. We sit at the nexus of major transatlantic data cables and 75% of transatlantic cables traverse through Irish waters.

"More than 80% of our natural gas arrives through two subsea pipelines and 90% of our trade by volume moves by sea," she said.

The Minister stated that greater collaboration between governments and industry is necessary to protect the subsea cables, energy pipelines and other maritime infrastructure.

A flagship defence event is taking place as part of the Irish EU Presidency at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham focused on the maritime challenges facing member states and how governments, industry and military can better share information to ''futureproof'' European maritime security.

The Government's first National Maritime Security Strategy was launched earlier this year, which focused on protecting critical undersea infrastructure, which the Government said is aligned with the EU's Maritime Security Strategy.

Since legislation was enacted in July, the Irish Defence Forces have specific functions in safeguarding the State's rights in territorial seas and in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.

''Work is also advancing on a Defence Forces node to access the EU's Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) which will be operational in 2027 and will complement our participation in the European Defence Agency MARSUR project.

"Access to tools such as these will increase our ability to gather intelligence and share information with our European partners and effectively counter threats in the maritime domain," Ms McEntee added.

Delegates were told that since 2022 Ireland's defence budget has increased by about 45% allowing for the development of military radar and sonar programmes.

The Government also said that it is investing in new counter unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) capabilities for the Naval Service vessels and it is going to revitalise Ireland's naval base in Co Cork.

The Minister added that EU efforts to deter the ''increasingly erratic behaviour'' of Russia's shadow fleet operations should continue to be disrupted and deterred.

''The unprecedented and growing volume of sanctions which target shadow fleet vessels and the eco-system that supports them must continue," Ms McEntee said.