Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
102. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Defence the work that is being carried out to improve the technology, such as radar equipment, which needs to be made available to the Naval Service to protect undersea cables and critical infrastructure around the coast; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71892/25]
View answerProtecting undersea critical infrastructure requires a multifaceted approach with different capabilities working in coordination to firstly detect an undersea threat, localise it, classify it and track it as it moves through the water. The Government has committed to measures to safeguard undersea critical infrastructure and the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces have a significant body of work underway in that regard.
In relation to subsea domain awareness capabilities, a programme of work has been approved as part of the overall Equipment Development Plan. As part of the NDP Plan for the Defence Forces which I published last week, investment in sonar capability is being prioritised as the first project which will see the Naval Service acquire sonar capability which will be used to detect objects near cables and pipelines in Irish territorial waters and the EEZ. This new acquisition will enhance awareness below the surface, contributing to the overall maritime picture available to Naval Service and the wider Defence Forces. This is a complex project and a new capability, so work in training personnel and establishing the procedures and structures required within the Defence Forces has commenced, and will continue in the period up to the delivery and operationalisation of the system.
A second project within that subsea programme of work has commenced. This project will result in a new Air Corps capability which can be used to detect, localise, identify, and track objects in the Irish EEZ. This capability will be used in conjunction with the new towed sonar capability planned for delivery in 2027, and also with existing Air Corps assets.
In the longer term, my department is preparing a Capability Development Programme which will identify at a high level, the capability requirements for the Defence Forces out to 2040 across all domains of operation including the subsea domain. This ongoing piece of work, once complete, will inform the prioritisation of capabilities the Defence Forces will progress in moving towards the strategic level of ambition set out in the Defence Policy Review. This will be in line with the capital allocation under the National Development Plan.
