Healy-Rae assault casts long shadow over D\u00e1il proceedings on first day backOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nPoliticians from all parties and none, right up to the level of Cabinet who spoke to The Irish Times this week, say that a fear of a serious attack has become a normal part of Irish politics over the last 24 months as threats have escalated. <\/p>\n
As one woman TD started her weekly drive back to her rural constituency on Thursday evening, she thought about the attack on Healy-Rae as she hit red traffic lights on her way out of Dublin. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was double checking the car doors to make sure they were locked,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
The long-serving politician, who has received serious online and in-person threats to her safety, including one which was reported to garda\u00ed, says she has started to become accustomed to working in a constant state of heightened vigilance. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re conscious of threats all the time. Wherever you are, you find yourself scanning the room,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have been attacked and you have a fear for your safety, you make yourself smaller. You\u2019re constantly conscious of it; it takes a lot of the joy out of the job. It prevents a lot of us from going out socialising.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a ministerial car on the way to the annual Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore this week, one adviser to a minister was having a frank conversation with their politician about the possibility of a physical assault. <\/p>\n
The most recognisable politicians in the State were about to mix within large crowds at one of the biggest public events in the Irish calendar, where an estimated 250,000 people would be in attendance over the three days. <\/p>\n
![\"Crowds](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/WOIGDLNUZNDDZG6NZCNGQUZSIM.jpg\")
Crowds at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, where there was an increased Garda presence this year. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n
Ministers and advisers who attended this year described a significantly enhanced Garda presence around senior politicians through visible garda\u00ed, plain clothes officers and detectives. <\/p>\n
The heavier security presence was partly a response to concern about fuel protesters, but also a sign that high-profile politicians now just generally require more protection. <\/p>\n
Opposition politicians who attended the same event also brought extra staff with them. One man in his 60s was arrested over an alleged attempted assault while approaching the Taoiseach at the event. <\/p>\n
Two advisers say that anticipating abuse or attacks has become a more regular part of bringing a Minister to a public event. There is more advance planning and liaison with local garda\u00ed before a minister visits a town. Spontaneous walkabouts or drop-ins on such trips \u2013 the traditional bread and butter of retail politics \u2013 have largely become a thing of the past. Events involving interactions between politicians and the public are much more regimented and scheduled due to the potential risks facing them. <\/p>\n
Monitoring and trying to eliminate attacks against politicians is now a far more routine part of Irish policing. Serious threats against politicians are now immediately reported directly to Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly. Garda\u00ed are proactively monitoring social media for credible threats against public representatives. <\/p>\n
It just makes me feel so weak, talking about this publicly. I just have to push it deep, deep down and try to move on<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u00a0Woman TD<\/p>\n
Since May 2024, the Garda has been running a dedicated operation \u2013 Operation Rialtas \u2013 to investigate threats against politicians. While figures are not yet available for this year, between 2024 and 2025, a total of 18 arrests have been made and 13 charges taken under the operation. <\/p>\n
The Garda says there have also been three summonses, four cautions to people under the age of 18 and two cautions to over-18s. The categories of offences range from assault, burglary and firearms to criminal damage and theft. Damage and theft of election posters and harmful communications have also been recorded as alleged offences under the operation. <\/p>\n
At the most senior levels of Government, two ministers describe how they jealously guard their sense of access to the public. Senior politicians are consciously not talking about abuse. <\/p>\n
One woman says talking about abuse, particularly gendered or sexual abuse, makes her feel she would be defined in the minds of some constituents as a \u201cvictim\u201d.<\/p>\n
A senator says they are concerned that giving an interview would prompt a fresh wave of abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just makes me feel so weak, talking about this publicly,\u201d says one TD.<\/p>\n
I would be a little smarter with certain public interactions in terms of walking away from conversations or situations when they become more heated, whereas before I would have been a bit more stubborn<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u00a0Minister<\/p>\n
That same politician had a stone thrown through the window of their partner\u2019s car. When abuse is at its peak, she could be yelled at on a weekly basis. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just have to push it deep, deep down and try to move on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The overwhelming majority of politicians say they have had significant support from local garda\u00ed. <\/p>\n
One Minister described an occasion where they reported a serious incident to the Garda and later received a call from a journalist who had been briefed about the report, making them think twice about reporting such incidents again.<\/p>\n
More constituency offices are being fitted with buzzers to control who enters and exits. Some staff describe how social media has become almost useless for politicians who try to shield themselves from abuse. <\/p>\n
One Minister describes how they have removed their home address and personal phone number from the internet as much as possible. While they say they still canvass and distribute leaflets as much as possible, they are \u201ca lot more wary of hosting public meetings or clinics\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI rarely go to them alone,\u201d the Minister says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI speak to the garda\u00ed a lot more regularly about my own circumstances. I would be a little smarter with certain public interactions in terms of walking away from conversations or situations when they become more heated, whereas before I would have been a bit more stubborn.\u201d <\/p>\n
Aengus O\u2019Rourke, a Fianna F\u00e1il councillor in Westmeath, is the chair of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG), which recently tried to tackle a harassment campaign that targeted up to 70 women councillors across the country. O\u2019Rourke says there has been a shift towards \u201chatred\u201d of politicians. <\/p>\n
He says he has seen \u201cwell-got and well-liked\u201d people become \u201cinstant targets\u201d as soon as they decide to run in local elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all looked at in the one category \u2013 we have become public enemy number one in so many people\u2019s minds,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cYou dirty little scumbag, ya,\u201d the gruff yet eerily calm voice says. \u201cYou\u2019ll see what\u2019s coming to you.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[11976,15049,1346,61,60,24878,43,15050,267270],"class_list":["post-629564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-national-ploughing-championships","tag-dail-eireann","tag-garda-siochana","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-healy-rae","tag-news","tag-seanad-eireann","tag-westmeath-county-council"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Garda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/JOVWUAKYXA5XQBAZRYQLILT7MY.jpg\")
Garda Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Roberts speaks to reporters at Dublin Castle on Thursday about the attack on TD Michael Healy-Rae. Photograph: Colin Keegan\/Collins <\/p>\n