Economy 'wouldn't last ten days' if undersea cables and pipes attacked, Taoiseach says

"If anything happens to them, or to the gas interconnector, the economy wouldn't last ten days. So are you saying we shouldn't cooperate with Britain to protect the gas interconnectors with the United Kingdom? That we should just ignore it? Are you saying we should ignore all of our European partners and protecting undersea critical infrastructure, such as subsea cables, such as the interconnector with France that will be completed in the next year?"

"Ordinary people knew the importance of internet and energy security, he said, and the Government would defend key infrastructure that provided the opportunity of economic participation, creating and securing jobs."

"The planet that I'm on, Taoiseach, is a planet where you introduce a Budget that cuts income for disabled people by €400 million, and that decreases the income of the lowest, the poorest people in this country, And it is the same planet where you are scaremongering to justify giving our euros to the French and British."

Ireland has requested assistance from the French Navy and Royal Navy to patrol Irish seas during its EU Presidency in the second half of the year to protect critical undersea infrastructure. Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended this cooperation, emphasizing that subsea cables and gas interconnectors to Britain and France are vital to Ireland's economy, stating the economy could not survive ten days without them. Martin argued that protecting this infrastructure through international cooperation with European partners and Britain is essential for maintaining internet and energy security, supporting economic participation and job creation. Opposition politician Paul Murphy criticized the arrangement as potentially leading Ireland closer to NATO involvement and questioned the government's priorities given budget cuts affecting vulnerable populations. Defence Minister Helen McEntee indicated the state is exploring necessary security supports from other countries during the presidency.

Read at Irish Independent