A man in his 30s is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court on Monday in connection with an alleged assault on Minister for Children and Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman.
Mr O’Gorman is said to be “shaken” by the alleged incident which occurred during a door-to-door election canvass on Saturday in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin.
Sources close to the Minister said the alleged assault occurred on a doorstep. Mr O’Gorman was carrying a folder at the time which was hit, causing him to drop it, and he was physically assaulted.
He did not sustain injuries and the alleged assault was prevented from escalating following intervention by a member of An Garda Síochána who was present.
Mr O’Gorman said in a statement that he was “grateful to the Garda Protection Officer assigned to me who was forced to intervene, and I have given a statement to the gardaí on the matter”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris described the incident as “absolutely unacceptable” and said what happened “cannot be tolerated or accepted in a modern democracy. I am so glad to hear he is ok and back out canvassing.
“I have been all across the country in recent months and it is important to state the overwhelming majority of people are fundamentally decent. Engaging directly with people is a core and fundamental part of our democracy and something I think people in this country value. It is essential in the weeks ahead that political candidates can go about their campaigning in complete safety and without fear.”
He added: “The safety of all politicians and all their canvassers is paramount in the forthcoming election.”
Mr O’Gorman said on Sunday he was “deeply concerned about the increase in abuse and threats” faced by politicians “in the last number of weeks”.
“It is abundantly clear that rampant misinformation on social media is driving extreme views. Misinformation is near-total on some platforms. I have seen the effects of that first hand, for both myself and for many other elected representatives.
“We cannot tolerate a situation where people running for office – from all parties and none – face the threat of violence for doing so. I have been canvassing in Dublin West for more than 20 years. It’s my home. Meeting people and chatting through the issues has been and always will be at the heart of my work as a public representative.”
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
