The new Mission Critical Communications system is built by Vodafone Ireland in partnership with the Irish Government.

The Government is trialling a new “last resort” communications platform for Ireland’s emergency services to boost connectivity and safety.

The new Mission Critical Communications (MCx) system is built by Vodafone Ireland in partnership with the Irish Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).

The system is meant to help emergency services such as Gardaí, fire services, ambulance teams and civil defence communicate and coordinate more effectively in public emergency situations, such as this year’s Storm Éowyn, which left 750,000 people in the country without power for days.

The system is especially vital for rural areas, or areas with less connectivity, the Government said.

The MCx network is the first of its kind for public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) agencies in Ireland, says Vodafone Ireland, and provides them with priority access on mobile networks, enabling relief teams to talk, share data and coordinate instantly – even when networks are congested.

First responders’ teams can talk, text, share live video and send maps instantly, even during storms or in areas with poor mobile coverage, to help reach people in need quickly.

Vodafone Ireland said that the network marks a “major step in moving from legacy voice and text services to secure, high-performance digital tools, in line with international standards for PPDR communications.”

In the future, the company said that its platform will combine roaming on its national 4G and 5G networks with direct-to-device satellite connectivity. This will allow anyone, on any network, to reach 112 or 999 during emergencies, even in remote or weather-affected areas.

Similarly, in the future, PPDR agencies will be able to access direct-to-device satellite when mobile networks are unavailable, it added.

The MCx platform was developed as part of ‘Project 2.5’, an initiative in Ireland’s nearly €1bn National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The plan is a part of an EU-wide response to the Covid-19 pandemic called ‘NextGenerationEU’.

Project 2.5 has already delivered high-speed fibre connections and established local computing hubs which function like mini data centres across rural Ireland, forming the backbone of the new National Low Latency Platform.

Proof of concept

The MCx system was successfully tested this week in Westport, Co Mayo, with emergency teams from Ireland and across Europe taking part in live trials.

Participants included local agencies such as Mayo Fire, Mayo County Council Emergency Plan, Public Health Nurse, and the local GP, alongside international experts and PPDR representatives from Scotland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The trial was observed by European PPDR agencies and the European Commission department DG Home’s EU Critical Communications System initiative as part of broader efforts to establish a pan-European mission-critical communications platform.

“This initiative is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to building a safer, more resilient and more inclusive Ireland, leading the way on digital transformation and innovation and investing in digital infrastructure,” said Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers, TD.

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary, TD, said: “As we all know, during and after Storm Éowyn, vast parts of the country were isolated for weeks without mobile or broadband communications.

“The services being trialled at this conference over the past few days give us a glimpse of how the PPDR users will be able to communicate more reliably and effectively in the future whether it is a major weather event or a road incident on the many miles of rural roads across the country.

Minister of State for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment Emer Higgins, TD, added: “The Mission Critical Communications technology unveiled today will lead to increased peace of mind for people living in rural Ireland and their loved ones, especially for those who are elderly or vulnerable. This is so important as we look towards the winter months.

“We are rapidly improving our digital infrastructure and this will deliver real improvements particularly for rural communities.

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Updated, 6.01pm, 25 September 2025: This article was amended to clarify that the new comms tech is in a trial stage and hasn’t officially launched yet.