Barry Heneghan
Question:615. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the measures in place to protect Ireland’s subsea communication cables from cyber or physical interference. [61066/25]
View answerTuesday, 20 January 2026
Questions (615)
Written answers
As I replied to Question 87 on 1 October 2025, Ireland’s maritime area is significant in scale and includes parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. This vast area creates a challenge for the protection of undersea cable infrastructure and the repair of this infrastructure in the event of damage. As an island Member State of the European Union, Ireland is particularly vulnerable to any threat to its subsea telecommunications cables for connectivity to the Global Internet backbone. These cables carry the data that power our economy, everyday communications and critical services.
At an EU-wide level, the security of the EU's submarine cable infrastructure must be significantly enhanced. The European Commission issued Recommendation (EU) 2024/779 on Secure and Resilient Submarine Cable Infrastructures in February 2024, which aims to improve the security and resilience of submarine cable infrastructures through better co-ordination at both national and EU levels.
Recommendation (EU) 2024/779 includes actions to address challenges faced by submarine cable infrastructures, ensuring their reliability against potential threats. It further proposes establishing a joint EU governance framework and making more effective use of private-sector investment to support Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs).
To support the implementation of Recommendation (EU) 2024/779, the Commission set up the Submarine Cable Infrastructure Expert Group, comprising representatives from Member States’ authorities and the European Union Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA), to offer guidance and expertise to the Commission. An EU-wide mapping and coordinated risk assessment of submarine cable infrastructures was agreed by the Expert Group and a report was published in October 2025.
In February 2025, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs issued the EU Action Plan on Cable Security (the ‘Action Plan’) which presented a range of measures to bolster the resilience of this critical infrastructure. The Action Plan sets out four priorities to secure critical infrastructure for both communication and energy submarine cables, focusing on prevention, detection, response and repair, as well as deterrence.
The first objective of the Action Plan is to prevent any disruptive incidents and increase resilience of submarine cable infrastructures against potential threats and vulnerabilities. The Action Plan outlines a number of preventive actions, aligned with Recommendation (EU) 2024/779, which are expected to be implemented by the first quarter of 2026; these include:
• mapping of existing and planned submarine cable infrastructures
• co-ordinating risk assessments (risks, vulnerabilities and dependencies) on submarine cables, taking into account spare part security of supply, and stress testing methodology
• creating a Cable Security Toolbox of mitigating measures
• developing a priority list of Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs).
Since I last addressed this issue in early October, officials from my Department have continued working with the Expert Group to deliver on the actions above and have contributed to the first report published by the Commission on 23 October 2025, available at this link on the European Commission’s website: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/report-security-and-resilience-eu-submarine-cable-infrastructures.
A follow-up report will be delivered on the Cable Security Toolbox and CPEIs priority list in early 2026.
In addition to working with our EU colleagues, we are also addressing how we can improve cooperation in this area with other states. At the UK-Ireland Summit in Liverpool on March 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Taoiseach Micheál Martin to discuss opportunities to work together and ensure the continued safety and security of the citizens of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The PM and Taoiseach recognised the importance of subsea cables and agreed supporting their security and resilience against accidental and malicious threats is a key priority. As a result, officials from my Department are liaising with their counterparts in the UK to explore avenues for cooperation.