In the previous five years, the Minister for Justice has declined to say if she was made aware of a purported spy in the Dáil, reports Breaking News.
According to Helen McEntee, the intelligence services frequently update her on any security-related issues.
It follows a story published on Sunday that claimed important government officials were informed that Russian intelligence had enlisted an Irish lawmaker.
According to The Sunday Times, one of the objectives of the “honeytrap” employed to entice the politician known as Cobalt was to sabotage ties between the UK, Ireland, and the EU during the Brexit talks, reports Breaking News.
The article further said that despite the possible agent’s identification by the Irish Defence Forces and security agencies, they are still members of the nation’s parliament.
Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister of Defence, stated earlier this week that he was never informed about a suspected spy.
Ms. McEntee stated that the Defence Forces and gardaí keep her informed on security-related issues.
“I think you’ll understand and appreciate I’m not going to get into details of what is a security matter. I shouldn’t. As Minister for Justice, I take my role extremely seriously,” she told RTÉ’s The Week In Politics Programme. What I will say, and obviously not getting into specifics, is that I am regularly briefed and updated on all security matters,” reports Breaking News.
“I’m updated by the gardai, I’m updated by the intelligence service, and they themselves then obviously have the structures. As Minister for Justice, I am directly briefed on a number of different issues, whether it’s coming directly from the gardai the or through the Defence Forces. And I think what we’ve seen over the last number of weeks is that as a country, we are not immune to any type of attack, be it base physical or an intelligence type attack,” reports Breaking News.
Social Democrats’ TD Gary Gannon stated that lawmakers ought to be provided with further details on the purported spy.
Citing the ransomware assault on the HSE in 2021, the Dublin Central TD criticised the state for its “very cavalier” attitude to internal security.
The whole health system of the nation was disrupted by a cybercrime outfit called Conti, which has its headquarters in Russia, reports Breaking News.
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