Naval Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

We have a huge amount of talent and a lot of innovation happening here. I think other countries are looking to Ireland and some of the work we are doing. On the same day I launched the maritime security strategy, I awarded a grant of €1 million through our Department to a private company that has been working with a university here. It is developing technology that can scan the seabed, look at gas pipelines and other types of critical infrastructure and identify where risks are emerging and how we respond to them but also maintenance and upkeep where that is needed. There is a lot of innovation happening here in Ireland, and we need to do more. The Deputy will know that our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, is bringing forward legislation to allow companies where there are dual-use opportunities around security and defence to access funding in a way they have not done before. That is really important. What is also critical in the new national maritime security strategy is the development of a forum that will bring together the private sector, Government, State agencies and Defence Forces to look at the overall infrastructure and how we develop, protect, monitor and manage it. That will be a really important way to ensure that everybody involved here in protecting what is critical infrastructure and the security of our State is working together and that we have full sight of what we need to do. Work is under way at the moment, and I look forward to providing further updates.

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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