The member of the Oireachtas allegedly recruited as a Russian agent "is a case of an idiot being taken for a ride," according to a security source familiar with the surveillance operation carried out on the spy suspect.
The revelation came after Ireland's Minister for Justice refused to confirm whether she was alerted to the alleged spy in the last five years.
Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin - who was Taoiseach at the time the politician came under the suspicion of security sources - confirmed he was never briefed on the activities of the agent, codenamed "Cobalt."
Mr. Martin also questioned how the information came into the public domain, hinting at a potential intelligence gap between security chiefs and their political masters.
'I was never told there was a spy in the Oireachtas'
Tánaiste Micheál Martin says he is 'surprised' by the reaction to reported Russian spy pic.twitter.com/z3nIHKp27S
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) October 10, 2024
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she is regularly briefed on all security matters, including by the intelligence services.
"I think you’ll understand and appreciate I’m not going to get into details of what is a security matter. I shouldn’t.
"As Minister for Justice, I take my role extremely seriously,” she told RTÉ's The Week In Politics Programme.
The security source this weekend acknowledged that Mr. Martin "probably should have been briefed" on the matter.
But they said: "There wasn’t really anything to it. This is a case of an idiot taken for a ride. It’s four years ago; it wasn’t an issue back then and now has become a national focus point."
The source added that Mr. Martin would have been briefed if security bosses felt "there was any major substance to it."
The Sunday Times last week reported that Russian intelligence allegedly recruited the Irish politician – understood to be a senator – as an agent during Brexit negotiations, with the aim of undermining relations between Britain, Ireland, and the EU.
The report said that, while Irish military and security services identified the potential agent, they remain in the Oireachtas.
The Sunday Times reported that a "honeytrap" was used to recruit the politician.
Several senators used their speaking time in the Upper House this week to declare that they were not Russian spies.
Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley was first to make the declaration and called on others to do the same.
He said: "There have been some rumours circulating that members of the upper house have been involved with Russia and there may or may not be a spy in our midst.
"I think it’s important, in order to avoid any potential stain on this House, that members would voluntarily make a statement that they are not the subject of any investigation or that they have never been in the clutches of Russia. And before I sit down, I can declare that I am not such a person."
He was joined by party colleagues Fiona O’Loughlin and Malcolm Byrne, and Fine Gael’s Maria Byrne, who also declared they are not Russian spies.
Former Green Party leader Eamon Ryan earlier called for the politician’s identity to be publicly revealed, and Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called all parties and Independents to audit TDs and senators to "ensure no undue influence from Russia or any other country."
Mr. Tóibín revealed that, in 2017, he was approached by a consultancy firm and "offered a trip with a five-star hotel and to meet Vladimir Putin" but said he was not interested "given the antidemocratic nature of Putin."
Micheál Martin told the Dáil he "was never told and never briefed that there was a spy in the Oireachtas." The Tánaiste said: "As Minister for Defence, I’ve never received a security briefing saying there’s a spy in the Oireachtas. There may be, there may not be."
Asked about the failure to communicate the alleged Russian agent’s activities to political leaders, a Garda spokesman said the force does not comment on matters of national security.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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