Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.Rolling News
Politicians across the political divide have condemned reports of a bomb threat at the home of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
McEntee's husband and young children were evacuated from their family home on Wednesday after bomb threats were made over the phone, according to widespread reports. McEntee was not at home at the time.
The threat, which was reportedly made from a location in Cork, did not contain a code word and no explosives were found at the scene, the Irish Independent reports.
However, gardaí regarded the threat with "utmost seriousness", according to reports.
A number of Irish politicians have condemned the incident, including Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, who described the threat as "disgusting".
Donnelly condemned the "harassment" and "intimidation" of politicians in Ireland, adding that there has been a "sinister" shift during the lifetime of the Government.
"I think what’s going on is genuinely very sinister. And even in the lifetime of this government, we have seen a very sinister change in this country," Donnelly told reporters on Saturday.
Donnelly also referenced recent protests outside the home of Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman, stating that "arriving to anybody’s family home in balaclavas to my mind is a direct and overt threat to their safety".
Meanwhile, Labour Party TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin described the bomb threat as a "new low" in Irish politics, stating that he is concerned by an "unprecedented level of anger" directed at Irish politicians.
"I'm standing in the European elections at the moment, and what I'm coming across is an unprecedented level of anger, violent language, abuse, which is making a lot of political parties find it difficult to find candidates," Ó Ríordáin said.
Aontú leader Peader Tóibín described the incident as "absolutely shocking" and said there was "no space" in Irish society for such threats.
Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire also condemned the incident in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing, can justify this, or the worry it would have caused her, her husband and 2 small children. There’s no excuse under the sun. Appalling," Ó Laoghaire wrote on X.