DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland must significantly increase its defense budget to protect critical infrastructure, including undersea cables and gas pipelines, according to Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

She warned that key submarine cables linking Europe with the U.S. run through Irish waters and remain vulnerable to espionage or sabotage, particularly amid rising tensions with Russia.

"The world has changed dramatically in the last three years," Carroll MacNeill told RTE's Morning Ireland. "It is very, very clear that some infrastructure needs further protection."

She highlighted Ireland's reliance on two major gas pipelines from the UK, emphasizing that while undersea cables have some redundancy, the same cannot be said for the pipelines.

Ireland's defense budget has reached a record 1.3 billion euros this year, part of a government plan to increase military spending by 50 percent by 2028 in response to global security threats. However, the country remains at the bottom of the EU in defense spending as a percentage of GDP.

Carroll MacNeill, who previously served as junior defense minister, reiterated her call for a major expansion of Ireland's defense capabilities.

"We need to essentially double our spending on defense, and that is not to make us change our neutrality. As a neutral country, you should, in fact, spend more on defense, not less—simply as a matter of logic," she said. "We need more people in our defense forces. We have the money to pay their salaries, but we struggle to recruit."

She also underscored the importance of Ireland standing in solidarity with European allies facing cyber and hybrid attacks, warning that Ireland is not immune to similar threats.

"The attacks that they are facing could just as easily happen here, and we should be alive to the risk," she said.