One thing that was immediately noticeable at the September think-ins of the political parties was the numbers of gardaí in evidence.
There was a very obvious increase in the garda presence, both in uniform around and outside the venues, and also in the numbers of plain clothes gardaí who provide close protection for senior members of the Government.
This is the world we now live in: where gardaí must accompany politicians to events, constantly watching for threats. Asked about it this week at his party’s event at Rochestown in Cork (“Welcome to Cork South Central!”), Taoiseach Micheál Martin didn’t want to be drawn into details, but did reveal that the main fear of the gardaí when it comes to protecting politicians was a “lone wolf” – an individual, acting alone, singling out someone for attack.
Paying tribute to the gardaí who provide close protection to him and his family, Martin revealed that when the gardaí deal with threats – which happens a lot more frequently than we hear about – it often turns out to be from people with mental health problems.
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If I was a politician, I’m not sure if I would find this more or less terrifying. Knowing that most of the people who want to murder you and your family are probably harmless might be a relief, but only up to a point. It’s not exactly a recipe for peace of mind.
And we know that in some cases, the people who want to harm politicians are actually dangerous. Yes, we don’t have the free access to guns that facilitated the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week and almost – give or take half an inch – meant Donald Trump suffered the same fate last year. But the plain fact is that our politicians are now routinely threatened with harm.
The Irish Times’s Conor Lally reported two weeks ago on the experiences on politicians – a litany of abusive and threatening behaviour, up to and including death threats. Last week, the Sunday Independent reported on a survey of all TDs and Senators and the results were depressingly similar – 33 politicians have been subjected to serious threats of violence, including some who have received repeated death threats.
[ Politicians under attack: ‘In the space of an hour five people called me a c**t’Opens in new window ]
“We saw a case recently of a guard being stabbed on the street [in Dublin],” one politician told Lally, “and, I’m telling you, we’re one inch away from that happening to a politician.”
On the days they are in Leinster House, one politician said, it is no longer possible to go for a walk through the city centre as they once did. Gardaí have asked they don’t.
“It would be out of the question now anyway. Some of these people spot you, they take out the phone and follow you ... calling you scum, a bollocks, a traitor,” the politician said.
Two weeks ago, Tánaiste Simon Harris revealed that he had been sent a series of threats, including bomb threats at his home. Harris – who having risen to the top in politics has greater than average resilience – was pretty shook by the events. Who wouldn’t be? People threatened extreme violence on his family. They couldn’t go home because of multiple, co-ordinated bomb threats.
On Wednesday, recognising the escalating threats facing members of the Oireachtas, the Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy began the Dáil term by seeking a meeting with the leaders of all parties to discuss how to respond to the abuse of politicians and the threat to our democracy.
And still, there is a sort of communal tendency among politicians and the broader community to throw our hands up in the air and say, “Sure, what can we do?”
Well, I’ll tell you what we can do.
The gardaí can investigate, pursue, arrest and charge the people responsible. And then the courts can, if there is sufficient evidence, convict and sentence the perpetrators to stiff jail terms. Both arms of the criminal justice system can do this a lot quicker than they have been.
Let’s be clear: threatening to kill or harm anyone and their family is a crime. Sending bomb threats is a crime. Using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in a public place with intent to provoke a breach of the peace is an offence under the criminal justice acts. It can carry a sentence of three months in prison and a fine of €1,000.
Politicians speak with deep appreciation of their garda close protection officers. But there is also widespread frustration among politicians at the pace of Garda investigations when they happen, and at their absence when they don’t. And most of the time they don’t.
Partly that is due to lack of urgency on the part of the Garda. It is also because the internet and social media companies don’t want to play ball. If they wanted, they could routinely provide the identities of people making criminal threats.
Surveyed after the local and general elections last year, most candidates said they didn’t bother reporting incidents – maybe because they knew what would happen. Those who did report abusive behaviour online reported that they were met with “convoluted processes with unsatisfactory outcomes, often citing stock responses received, which stated that reported content did not violate terms and conditions, even in cases involving clear threats of harm or incitement to violence”, according to a recent survey by Coimisiún na Meán, the media regulator.
For the social media companies and the internet giants, in their vast carelessness, the hollowing out of democracy they are facilitating is secondary to their profits. They need to be compelled by law enforcement to reveal the identities of people who threaten politicians and those people need to be jailed. You’ll find that would put a stop to it. There is no reason at all why this cannot be done – except a lack of will.
