‘Where’s the leadership here?’
UNEASE in Government is growing over what one senior figure in Cabinet termed the ‘lacklustre’ leadership in response to the biggest ever cyber attack in the history of the State.
Amid growing public disquiet over the impact of the attack, the concern is centred on the low profile of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the absence of any public statement from stand-in Justice Minister Heather Humphreys.
The response of the Taoiseach has to date been low-key consisting of a declaration that Ireland will not pay a ransom.
One Cabinet minister told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘And where is the acting Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys? She should be out reassuring the public, telling them that the State is tackling this with every power at our disposal.
‘There is deep disquiet in Government about the lack of a visible presence from Heather now that she is supposed to be the minister for justice at the time of one of the most high-profile attacks on the machinery of Government, ever.’
Another minister warned: ‘If this isn’t resolved in the next 24 hours, we are facing massive repercussions. I don’t mean to be alarmist but it’s going to cause huge upheaval and even in very, very important procedures and operations and so on. If it’s not solved it will be really, really problematic.’
The minister added: ‘What is the justice minister saying? Isn’t an attack like this a major security issue? Of course it is. There is some major criminal today requesting money from the State.’
One top-level politician said of the cyber attack: ‘This is a modern version of terrorism. Ireland essentially has been attacked... It is an attack on real people.’