Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has welcomed confirmation that his request for officials from the National Cyber Security Centre to come before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications has been accepted.

Teachta Ó Murchú contacted the committee chairperson on Friday, the day the cyber attack at the HSE was revealed, and asked for the NCSC to be invited to appear before TDs as soon as possible. They will now do so tomorrow at 9.30am.

Teachta Ó Murchú said:

“We will be asking the officials about the cyber attack on the HSE and the Department of Health, and the detailed implications of the attacks.

“I will also be concentrating on the wider issues of cyber security. 

“But the fallout of these cyberattacks highlights the urgent need to evaluate the capacity of the National Cyber Security Centre, the bodies it interacts with, particularly the Gardai and the Defence Forces, from the point of view of how threats and attacks are dealt with.

“We will also have to deal with the questions and concerns that are now in the public domain including the staffing, the lack of a NCSC director, the soon-to-be-completed review and the paltry €5 million budget.”