A bomb threat was made on the home of Taoiseach Simon Harris while his wife and young children were in the building last night, Wednesday, June 26.
While An Garda Síochána told IrishCentral on Wednesday evening that it "does not comment on security matters relating to Government Ministers or any elected representatives," it is understood that gardaí rushed to the house at around 6 pm on Wednesday after an anonymous caller made the threat to the Samaritans helpline.
The Irish Examiner reports that the caller used a specific code word when placing the call, prompting the charity crisis helpline to immediately contact gardaí, who raised an official security alert.
Gardaí carried out a search of Harris's home, but no device was found and Harris's family did not have to be evacuated.
The incident has now been declared a hoax.
Harris denounced the threat while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“In relation to my own situation, I don’t really wish to comment on it other than to say, obviously, this is a clearly unacceptable situation," the Taoiseach told reporters in Brussels on Thursday where he's attending a meeting of EU leaders.
"Even the word hoax is not a fair word, with respect, because I have no doubt these things are done to intimidate, to upset.
“I have young children, I’ve a wife, and this is an utterly unacceptable situation.
“I do think - and I say this really respectfully - all of us in our discourse, including the media, need to reflect on how we sometimes comment on these matters.
"If masked men turned up outside your house, it wouldn’t be described as protest.
“It’s not a protest when it happens outside my house either.
“This situation can’t be allowed to continue.”
New: Taoiseach Simon Harris says his family do not plan to leave their home in Co Wicklow, despite a malicious bomb threat being made to the house last night. He describes the threat as “an utterly unacceptable situation”. @VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/IoiPwetoZR
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) June 27, 2024
On June 14, a group of people wearing masks gathered at the Taoiseach's home, some of them with banners that said "‘close the borders."
Gardai said afterward: "A small number of individuals gathered outside a residence in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, shortly before 8 pm on Friday, 14th June 2024.
"Gardaí engaged with those present and instructed them to immediately leave the area, which they complied with."
Later, on June 20, Gardaí in the Wexford/Wicklow Division, supported by the Special Detective Unit, said they had arrested three males for alleged offences contrary to Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act as part of ongoing investigations into the alleged harassment of an elected official.
The males, two of whom are aged in their 40s and one in his 30s, were detained at Garda Stations in Co Wicklow under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
All three were released without charge; a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Harris said on Thursday that he will continue to live at his home in Co Wicklow with his family.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, whose home was also the target of a bomb threat in April, called Wednesday's incident "absolutely deplorable."
She said: "I'm very pleased, obviously, everybody is safe and everybody is well, but there's a changed environment that we are working in in politics, and unfortunately this is something that has become more common, can't be tolerated, we cannot accept it, and everything has to be done to make sure that anyone who's responsible for something like that"
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