A top Naval Service officer has said Ireland needs to develop the ability to monitor threats to sub-sea cables passing through Irish-controlled waters given the “tremendous” impact of any interference with them. 

Captain Brian Fitzgerald, who retires at the end of March as second in command of the Irish Naval Service, warned that if sub-sea cables are cut, business and the internet will not grind to a halt but “snap to a halt”.

He said he was concerned about illegal fishing vessels, many of which were capable of extracting “€5-6m worth of fish” in one trip, and that he had “some concerns” about Ireland’s ability to enforce the law despite the work of the navy.

Capt Fitzgerald said that, in addition, Brexit had created enormous challenges for the Naval Service in that it had to police a 1,315km long sea border with Britain, which he said had created a “volumetric explosion of administration” regarding the cross-border movement of fishing vessels.

He said Ireland had responsibility for policing the Exclusive Economic Zone, which stretches 200 nautical miles west and south west off our coast, noting the Irish Examiner (here) added also his reference to the Irish Sea which has some of busiest sub-sea cables on the planet.