The government will double the salary of the head of the National Cyber Security Centre to try and attract someone to the vacant role.

It will also hire another 20 people as part of a €2.5m rise in the agency’s budget while new legislation to strengthen the security body’s role is also promised.

The move comes after the recent ransomware attack on the HSE exposed the state’s weakness in dealing with cyber incidents.

Under the initiative, the job of director of the NCSC will be re-advertised at a salary of €184,000, twice its previous offered salary, “to reflect the scale and importance of the role and to attract experienced candidates”.

A single headquarters for the NCSC will now be housed within the Department of Communication’s Beggars Bush offices.

As well as the 20 new jobs, a cyber security graduate training programme is to be started, with four computer science graduates recruited each year on three-year contracts. Meanwhile, a new five-year “technology strategy” for the NCSC is to be embarked upon, to “scope its internal requirements and its relationship with academia and industry”.

The extra 20 roles will increase the number of people working at the NCSC to 45.

“This investment marks a step change in the evolution of the National Cyber Security Centre,” said Environment, Climate and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan. “As Ireland is a leading digital economy, protecting the cyber security of government IT and critical national infrastructure is vital. The NCSC has an important role in gathering intelligence on cyber threats and in sharing that information and providing expert guidance.”

The government decision today follows recommendations made by Minister Ryan on receipt of a ‘capacity review’ of the NCSC.