Naval Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Naoise Ó Muirí (FG), Dublin Bay North

I welcome the national maritime security strategy. It is a very positive step forward. With the EU Presidency just around the corner, this defence issue has rarely been more topical. We face potential threats now that we would not have thought of ten, 15 or 20 years ago. The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, for example, puts into perspective how vulnerable we would be if that were to happen to us.
The two interconnector gas connections going from Scotland to Ireland will carry 86% of our gas for this winter. The new Celtic interconnector on the seabed between Cork and France when it comes live will have 700 MW of power, powering potentially 450,000 homes. These are all vulnerable. Until we transition to renewable energy sources, they will be vulnerable. Will the Minister elaborate further what is being done to safeguard those particular assets from man-made threats to them?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07