Ireland must work with the UK, other EU member states and the US to combat the threat from Russia on cybersecurity, sub-sea cables and gas connectors, the Taoiseach has warned.
Micheál Martin emphasised that Russia has become more aggressive beyond Ukraine and showed no interest in peace.
In the annual Taoiseach’s address to the Seanad, he highlighted drone violation of airspace across EU states, hybrid attacks, disinformation campaigns and the monitoring of undersea infrastructure by Russia.
The level of debate in Ireland, however, is “not equal to the threats we face”. He said there is insufficient understanding of how dependent the country is on undersea infrastructure and how vulnerable it is.
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There is an “expanded shadow fleet with multiple purposes that also poses massive environmental risks and threats”, he said.
The Taoiseach made his remarks as he addressed the Upper House in a wide-ranging speech including Budget 2026, the Shared Island project, the Gaza ceasefire and the war in Ukraine, whose president Volodymyr Zelenskiy he expected to welcome to Ireland “in the near future”.
He told Senators that “over the last number of months, a pattern has emerged which represents a new phase of activity on behalf of Russia towards EU member states and the UK”.
“Ireland is not immune to this. We have to share knowledge and expertise with EU member states and UK and significantly increase our own defence capability and resilience,” he said.
The State also has to ensure in relation to peacekeeping “that we have maximum interoperability with other Member States participating with us”.
His comments echoed remarks he made this week in the Dáil when he said Ireland has an “individually tailored plan with Nato” to deal with the issue of cyber and sub-sea security.
Speaking in the Seanad he said the “volume or quality of discussion and debate” on theimportance of Ireland’s undersea infrastrucute and working with other countries to protect them is not “equal to the threats that we face”.
“The extent of our dependence on critical undersea infrastructure, in terms of connectivity, data security, economic resilience, energy and the vulnerability of that infrastructure, is not understood to the extent that it should be.”
He cited the response to the Forum and International Security and Defence policy which he established as tánaiste as an example of this. “I had to face down noisy protests and was accused of hatching secret plans to join Nato before a single word was uttered at that forum.”
He stressed that Ireland remains responsible for its own defence policies.
“However, there are areas where like-minded partners can and should do more together. We need to have a sensible and mature discussion about what areas this might include and what closer collaboration might look like.”
Meanwhile, warning about the potential for Ireland to reach a “tipping point” on racism, as in other countries, he was “very concerned about the rhetoric, the language that’s being used, the aggression out there in society”.
He said Ireland’s overall immigration policy is based on rules and is “fair to those who come here to work, study and seek refuge”.
He said immigration had been very good for Ireland and the country had to “stand up for the fundamental values of the dignity of every human being”.
