Harris says it is time to break ‘dignified silence’ on threats to politicians

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

The Tánaiste has said he will no longer maintain “a dignified silence” on the issue of threats against politicians and public representatives.

Simon Harris was speaking as gardaí investigate a threat made against his family on social media.

A woman aged in her 30s who was arrested in relation to the Garda investigation was released without charge on Wednesday.

The Fine Gael leader has received threats before, including through social media and a phoned bomb threat.

Protests have also been held outside his home, where his wife and children live.

Speaking at Government Buildings in Dublin, Mr Harris said: “You’re meant to maintain a dignified silence in relation to all of these things, and I’m just not willing to do it anymore.

“When you experience direct threats to your children, to their safety, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody in this country.

“Whether you’re a politician, whether you’re in the public eye, whether you’re a private citizen, the safety of our children online, and indeed the safety of everybody online, is not a discretionary answer.

“I worry about the toxicity that we see in public discourse now. I worry about the sort of society where somebody can raise an anonymous account and decide to target children.

“There’s an ongoing Garda investigation in relation to my own specific circumstances. I don’t want to cut across that.

“But more broadly, I think for far too long we’ve maintained a dignified silence on this, I think it’s time for all of us now in public life to say ‘enough’.

“I think we need to really give this serious consideration. This is not who we are as a country, I know that.

“I’ve been involved in protests before. I’ve been protesting against and I protested, and this is not any of this. It’s thuggery and it’s deeply upsetting.”

Mr Harris said he is not sure what the cause is, before adding “Ireland is not immune” from the issue of people with extreme views trying to “distort legitimate public debate” online.

He said: “I don’t know, is the honest answer, and I think it really deserves very serious consideration and challenge by all of us, by policy makers, by law enforcement authorities, and by all of us in terms of our own individual behaviour.

“Online media, social media has been a great advent, as you know I use it a lot. I think it, in many ways, can play a helpful role in engaging with people and discussing things. I think all of that is good.

“But I also think we can’t have a situation where we talk about threats and online threats.

“It doesn’t matter where the threat happens, doesn’t matter if it is online, offline, in person, anonymous, threats against people, threats against children.

“We just can’t have some sort of tolerance that we differentiate whether somebody comes up in the street and threatens to do something to your family, or whether somebody sends a message directly to your phone threatening to do something to your family, and I make that point broadly.

“I think in many ways we’re trying to apply 20th century policies, laws, law enforcement practices to the 21st century. I think that needs to be considered.

“I do also – and I’m certainly not talking in relation to my own situation – but I do also think we’ve seen, not just in Ireland, but across the world, how various influences, various people of extreme views and the likes and can use online media to perhaps distort legitimate public debate on topics of interest and importance – and Ireland is not immune from that either.”