Security experts have welcomed the decision by the Oireachtas to approve Government plans to take part in an EU military project to protect critical seabed infrastructure, such as transatlantic data cables, from sabotage and terrorism.
The Oireachtas backed the motion to allow the Defence Forces to join a Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) initiative. Though Ireland signed up to the voluntary framework in December 2017, it is only involved in four projects currently.
The Department of Defence said the Pesco Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection project aims to enhance co-operation among EU states in “monitoring, securing, and defending critical seabed infrastructure”.
UCD School of History assistant professor Edward Burke said: “At a time of mounting international tensions … there is an obvious growing need to protect subsea cables in Europe.
“Being part of an EU framework, an initiative to protect critical infrastructure, is sensible, necessary, and urgent. Ireland has international obligations to do its part to secure communications — not least to ensure the privacy and security of EU citizens.”
Former Defence Forces chief of staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett said Ireland has lodged claims with the United Nations Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf for a jurisdiction of almost 1,000,000sq km in which the State may exercise sovereign rights.
“Sovereign rights that are not upheld are more imaginary than real,” Mr Mellet said.
UCC Department of Government and Politics professor Andrew Cottey said recent developments — such as the September 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines — highlighted the “vulnerability of seabed infrastructure” such as communication cables, pipelines, and electricity interconnectors.
“As an island with a large maritime domain, Ireland is particularly vulnerable in this respect,” he said.
“The Irish Naval Service is small and underfunded, even compared to other similarly sized countries. It lacks the capabilities to monitor Ireland’s seas, let alone to deter a malign actor such as Russia.”
He said projects such as the Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection are about trying “to collectively identify needed capabilities and, in future, potentially jointly develop and procure those capabilities”.
The Department of Defence said the project will provide opportunities for exercises and training, and examine technologies that can assist in mitigating threats to critical subsea infrastructure.
