Online threats to families should not be ‘consequence free’, Simon Harris says

By Gráinne Ní Aodha and Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

Simon Harris has said he felt it was important to highlight the impact of online threats to his family and that such actions should not be “consequence free”.

Two people have been handed prison sentences recently for sending threatening messages in relation to Mr Harris and his family.

The Tánaiste and Finance Minister said over a period of months last year there was “a sustained pattern of very elevated and violent commentary” towards his family.

He said his concern was that such incidents “inspire people to carry out acts against other people”.

He said he had chosen to give a victim impact statement to court in relation to one of the cases about the effect of threats to his family as they should not be “consequence free”.

“It’s not an easy one to do when you’re when you’re a public figure,” he said in an interview on Newstalk radio.

“Quite frankly, it’s something the guards asked me, as they’d ask anybody to consider making a victim impact statement, you have a right to go to court and address the court.

“All of us in public life, all of us in public view, can, from time to time, experience online nastiness and the likes.

“What my family experienced was at a level like I’d never experienced before.

“And I just wanted to pose to the person – and I don’t wish anybody any ill – but I wanted to pose to the person a few questions as to what actually goes through your mind when you sit at home behind a computer screen and threaten to do very significant harm to my children or to my family?

“I did just think it needed to be called out, not just for me and not just for my children and my family, but more broadly, I think sometimes when we talk about online, we talk about it as though it’s some sort of separate world over there where anything goes.

“The oxygen is sucked out of your home when you’re sitting there on a Friday evening and you receive a credible threat to carry out very significant physical harm to your children, and these things can’t be consequence free.”

He said he has decided not to post “obviously visible” pictures of his son and daughter to social media, but that this was more to do with recent concerns raised about AI chatbot Grok.

He said he and his wife Caoimhe try to protect their children from it, but added that young people know when “there’s something up”.

“Children are very perceptive and if there’s bomb threats to your home, as we’ve had, and there’s Garda sniffer dogs wandering around your home, you know, they’re aware there’s something up.”

He said he had moved on from the threats affecting his future in politics.

“I’m more energised and more focused than I’ve ever been. I’ve a lot of work to do.

“And you know, at the end of the day, I believe in public service. I passionately believe in public service.”