Elaine Loughlin: Ireland is dangerously exposed to sabotage beneath the sea — and we’re not ready

Ireland’s seabed carries our data, power and gas — but political inaction leaves us dangerously open to attack

In 2026, this site in Youghal, Co Cork will become the Irish end of the Celtic Interconnector linking the Irish and French electricity networks — just one of Ireland's myriad electricity, gas, and internet links to the world. Picture: Dan Linehan

In the deepest depths of our oceans, hundreds of tiny hollow tubes not much bigger than a garden hose carry information that powers the globe.

It takes just a fraction of a second for data to travel across the Atlantic, pulsing at almost the speed of light through cables that traverse subsea canyons, mid-ocean ridges, and abyssal plains.