The Irish government’s increase in defence spending will be partly used to protect subsea cables, the Tánaiste says.
A number of important pipes and cables are thought to run through Ireland’s maritime zone.
According to Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, “the majority of transatlantic data communications” run through Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, an area seven times the size of the island of Ireland.
Speaking at a conference on the issue earlier this month he warned that “protecting critical undersea infrastructure requires us to have a full understanding of what is occurring in the maritime space.”
Russia is thought to have conducted at least two submarine missions round the Irish Sea in recent years.
That’s raised concerns about the safety of undersea infrastructure.
The company TeleGeography maps existing and planned subsea cables around the world.
A plethora of coloured lines pass close to, or connect up with, Ireland.
Given the high tech firms based here, that’s not surprising. But how well protected are those wires?
It is understood that the British Royal Navy currently monitors subsea cables in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone on Ireland’s behalf.
Earlier this year, the Irish government reached an unusual deal with NATO to improve intelligence sharing related to subsea cables.
This month Norway and Germany signed an agreement “to further strengthen NATO’s role in the protection of critical undersea infrastructure across vast maritime areas in NATO’s area of responsibility.”
Although Ireland is not a NATO member, it is clear that its geographical position makes it an area of interest to the Euro-Atlantic alliance.
Norway and Germany have gone further and propose the creation of five regional CUI [Critical Undersea Infrastructure] Hubs for five maritime areas: Baltic Sea, North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.
The Irish government said defence spending would increase to €1.35 billion for 2025 and some of this funding would be use to improve “military radar and subsea awareness.”