Tánaiste Simon Harris to launch Public Consultation on Ireland’s first ever Maritime Security Strategy

• New strategy to map out Ireland’s approach to maritime security
• Focus on emerging threats, vulnerabilities and protecting our subsea infrastructure
• Public consultation to run over the next four weeks; Interested parties urged to lodge submissions

The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris, will today launch a public consultation on Ireland’s first ever National Maritime Security Strategy.

The strategy will map out Ireland’s approach to maritime security over the next five years, with a particular focus on dealing with emerging threats and vulnerabilities and protecting our subsea infrastructure.

The public consultation will run over the next four weeks with the Tánaiste today inviting submissions from interested individuals or groups.

The new maritime security strategy is expected to be published before the end of the year.

The Tánaiste will launch the strategy during Defence Questions in the Dáil today.

Simon Harris will say:

The new strategy will include an analysis of why it is important to Ireland, the wider context in which it is placed, and the vision and strategic objectives of the strategy.

This first strategy of its kind will identify and prioritise the risks and threats Ireland faces in the maritime domain, and will include a plan to address the most urgent and immediate concerns.

Access to the public consultation is via a dedicated webpage on https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-defence/campaigns/consultation-on-national-maritime-security-strategy/. This page is now open and will remain open until 11th July.

Those wishing to participate in the consultation will have the opportunity to do so by responding to eight specific questions.

The Defence Policy Review, published in June 2024, called for this strategy to be prepared in cooperation with national and international stakeholders.

Notes for Editors

• Ireland has one of the largest maritime Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the EU, with a maritime area that is 7 times our land area. We have extensive sea fishing, air traffic, sea lines, undersea cables and energy production capacity and infrastructure situated in the waters around our country;
• Approximately 78 per cent of our energy needs is imported on ships or via pipelines and 90 per cent of Irelands trade by volume is transported by the sea. Over 95 per cent of international data and voice transfers are routed through undersea fibre optic cables and the majority of transatlantic data passes through cables situated in Ireland’s EEZ. Approximately 80 per cent of the country’s population live in coastal counties;
• Since its establishment at the end of 2024, the Department of Defence’s Maritime Security Unit has undertaken extensive research. This includes examination of existing strategies and policies in the area of maritime security, outreach to maritime industry and to maritime authorities, meetings with international partners to identify potential opportunities related to cooperation on the protection of critical undersea infrastructure, and outreach to neighbouring countries to learn from their experience and to identify opportunities to work together;
• It is clear, from this work, that enhancing maritime domain awareness and protecting critical maritime infrastructure, especially critical undersea infrastructure, will have to be key elements of the National Maritime Security Strategy;
• In view of the threats that Ireland’s maritime domain faces, it is essential that we develop a robust, adaptive and collaborative maritime security strategy. This public consultation offers a critical opportunity to shape Ireland’s approach to safeguarding our waters. The Department of Defence encourages an open, constructive dialogue and this will enable us to build consensus on the diverse threats, risks, challenges and opportunities being faced by the country.

ENDS