Tánaiste and Minister of Defence Micheál Martin surprised at ‘herd-like’ response to Russian spy claims

Derry Journal

Transcript

00:00Honestly, very serious allegations have been made against a member of the Oireachtas

00:03and that they're being used as an intelligence asset by the Russian government.

00:08That any Oireachtas member elected to represent the interests of the Irish people

00:12would allow themselves to be manipulated to work in the interests of a foreign government

00:16is scandalous, it's actually treacherous. Ireland is a member of the EU,

00:19we have a common travel area with Britain, we're the location for a high concentration

00:23of tech companies and we have, you know, underwater transatlantic cables off the coast

00:29above which two Russian ships parked recently.

00:32In 2021 we were hit with a cyber attack that cost 100 million euros

00:35that could top out at 650 million euros and we have a defence force

00:40which is weakening in numbers by the year.

00:42Yesterday the Siannid discussed the issue, members of the Siannid sniggered like giddy children,

00:47it looks like an episode of killing a scully to be honest.

00:51Tánaiste, is this a laughing matter in reality?

00:55You're the minister for the defence, you receive national security briefings,

00:59you know who the individual is, what are you going to do to ensure that this person is held to account?

01:05First of all I don't know who the individual is.

01:09Yes, just let me finish now because I'm going to make an important point here and statement here.

01:14When I was Taoiseach, when the dates concerning this alleged individual

01:18allegedly was, I received security briefings but I was never told

01:23and never briefed that there was a spy in the Oireachtas

01:27which to all intents and purposes is what the article in the Sunday Times asserts.

01:32I'm actually very surprised at the degree to which everybody heard like

01:37have just grabbed on the story and said this is it, who is the person?

01:42I'm absolutely amazed, there's a more fundamental question to be asked

01:46which I'm going to ask as Minister of Defence

01:48because as Minister of Defence I've never received a security briefing saying there's a spy

01:54in the Oireachtas. There may be, there may not be but I've never been briefed.

01:59There's an issue of accountability in terms of our intelligence services

02:03because if this is true then someone gave that information out

02:08and I don't think that's acceptable actually, I don't.

02:13And I think there's a broader issue that future governments and the Oireachtas at large

02:18need to be very clear-eyed about the need in a democracy

02:22that intelligence services have an accountability chain and are accountable.

02:28I would argue, and there is a national security strategy being developed,

02:31I would argue we lack that at the moment.

02:34I'm not comfortable with the situation pertaining to intelligence.

02:38It's very important that we have intelligence,

02:40it's very important in terms of the external dimension

02:42and our defence forces do a very good job actually

02:47and a very necessary job for the protection of the country.

02:51I have concerns about how all of this has emerged into the public arena,

02:56real concerns about it Deputy,

02:58and I'm somewhat surprised that politically it's all been in one direction and not in the other.

03:05Finally if I could, in conclusion,

03:08suggest because there has been some rumour circulating

03:12that members of the upper house have been involved with Russia

03:16and that there may or may not be a spy in our midst.

03:18I think it's important that in order to avoid any potential stain on this house

03:30that members would voluntarily make a statement that they are not the subject of any investigation

03:36or that they have never been in the clutches of Russia.

03:42Before I sit down I can declare that I'm not such a person that I have not.

03:48I hope everybody will use the opportunity to ensure that they declare that they're not a Russian spy.

03:55And like yesterday could I remind members in general that nobody has been mentioned

04:05and I will ask members,

04:06and I'm not being windy as accusing the papers today

04:10but I'm trying to protect all of us and the house.

04:13And I too, Senator Dooley, am like you, not one of those people either.

04:17So that's that's that's okay.

04:27Thanks very much indeed.

04:30Thank you Senator.

04:32Senator Byrne.

04:33Well I want to declare I'm not one of them either.

04:36This is chart number four.

04:38Can I also say that I am not a spy and I have no doubt that Senator Dooley isn't

04:42a Russian spy either himself and Kyle Crow are spending so much time keeping an eye on each other.

04:48The Russians, the Russians wouldn't be up to them.

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