152. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if consideration will be given to the creation of a joint intelligence centre tasked with producing integrated national security threat assessments, amongst other functions, to report to the National Security Authority or directly to the National Security Committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52082/26]

The Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, set out a number of commitments relating to national security.

A key commitment in the Programme for Government was the introduction of a new Ministerial Council on National Security, established last year. The Council is chaired by the Taoiseach and includes the Tánaiste, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for Defence, and myself as Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The Council receives detailed, up to date briefings on the current national security situation and events, including relevant international developments and current cyber threats. The Council also receives detailed reports from the National Security Committee covering the full range of national security-related issues.

As Minister, I also receive regular briefings on the security situation from my own officials, An Garda Síochána, and the National Cyber Security Centre.

As the Deputy will be aware, the current National Security Authority (NSA) is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and operates on an administrative basis only. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to bring the NSA under the remit of my Department. Work is well underway to design a new statutory NSA to support the security and protection of Classified Information, in line with our EU and international obligations. It is not envisaged that the NSA will have an intelligence co-ordination role and I am not considering the creation of a joint intelligence centre along the lines suggested by the Deputy.