CORK’S only female TD has spoken out about the levels of abuse she faces in the course of her job, and the actions of a persistent stalker which left her “absolutely terrified”.

Cork South-West Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns said she might never have run for election had she known the extent of abuse faced by female politicians.

“If I knew what I was getting myself into, no, I would not have done it… I don’t regret it,” Ms Cairn said, speaking on Virgin Media podcast The Group Chat. “But honestly, had I known... probably, no, I wouldn’t have done it.”

The 33-year-old said a persistent online stalker began to show up at her home — including at times when she was in Dublin for work — and changed how she behaved “in every single thing I did”.

“I felt then like every message I got was somebody who could potentially turn up to my house… It interferes with your job to the extent that you can’t do the same things as your constituency colleagues — it impacts you every step of the way,” she said.

Ms Cairns has been advised by gardaí not to run a constituency clinic, because it would advertise where she would be at specific times, probably alone, and has been forced to install security at her home. “I’m from West Cork. I didn’t have a lock for a door, even if I wanted to, we didn’t have a key for the door, I didn’t have blinds, I didn’t have any kind of security,” she said. “Now I have CCTV, I have blinds, I have locks, I’m hyper aware.”

• Season 3 of The Group Chat airs at 11pm on Wednesdays on Virgin Media Two and is available to download on all major podcast platforms on Thursdays