THE GOVERNMENT HAS asked the public to contribute to a maritime security document that will be used to secure Ireland’s huge undersea cables and shipping routes in the Atlantic and Irish Sea. 

Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris is launching the public consultation for the National Maritime Security Strategy.  

Government have said that the strategy will map out Ireland’s approach to maritime security over the next five years, with a particular focus on dealing with emerging threats and vulnerabilities and protecting our subsea infrastructure.

The document’s public consultation phase has been announced in the context of a more dynamic fervour for defence in Europe.

The Journal has learned that a major contract has been agreed and due to be announced for the provision of Sonar for the Irish Naval Service. That will likely be announced in the coming week.

In December 2022 Micheál Martin, who was then Taoiseach, said that a National Security Strategy was being worked on. Public consultation began in December 2019.

Earlier this year The Journal reported that the National Security Strategy had been further delayed.

In February the Taoiseach said that there would be pressure on Ireland to increase Defence capability. 

Security and civil service sources have said that this has caused a more urgent atmosphere across State institutions.

The public consultation will run over the next four weeks with the Tánaiste today inviting submissions from interested individuals or groups.

The new maritime security strategy is expected to be published before the end of the year and is likely to focus on security of critical undersea infrastructure such as internet and electrical cables.

Simon Harris said: “As an island nation with one of the largest sea areas in Europe, it is absolutely vital that we have a robust and effective maritime security strategy in place.

“This strategy will be crucial to assessing any potential threats and vulnerabilities with a particular focus on protecting our undersea infrastructure.

“As such, this public consultation that I am launching today marks a critical opportunity to shape Ireland’s approach to safeguarding our waters.

“We want to encourage an open, constructive dialogue and this will enable us to build consensus on the diverse threats, risks, challenges and opportunities being faced by the country,” he said. 

The Department of Defence said this morning that it will be the first strategy of its kind to identify and prioritise the risks and threats Ireland faces in the maritime domain, and will include a plan to address the most urgent and immediate concerns.

Ireland has one of the largest maritime EEZ in the EU, with a maritime area that is seven times our land area.

Approximately 78 per cent of Ireland’s energy needs is imported on ships or via pipelines and 90 per cent of Irelands trade by volume is transported by the sea.

More than 95 per cent of international data and voice transfers are routed through undersea fibre optic cables and the majority of transatlantic data passes through cables situated in Ireland’s EEZ. Approximately 80 per cent of the country’s population live in coastal counties.

The research and lead agency for the development of the strategy will be the Department of Defence’s Maritime Security Unit.