'We need to make sure that we're all vigilant' - Justice Minister responds to alleged Russian intelligence recruiting Irish politician

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that she has not been approached by Russia in response to the reports of Russian intelligence attempting to recruit an Irish politician. 

Over the weekend, The Sunday Times reported that a member of the Oireachtas had been targeted by Russian intelligence in an attempt to recruit the politician as an agent during the Brexit talks in order to undermine relations between Ireland, Britain and the EU.

According to this report, the politician in question, code-named Cobalt, remains in the Oireachtas. 

Speaking in Louth on Monday, Minister McEntee said: "We're not immune to these kinds of threats. No matter how small a country you are, you feel we're on the periphery, we're not and so we need to make sure that we're all vigilant."

This statement by McEntee echoes the comments made by Taoiseach Simon Harris on Sunday regarding the report, in which he said: "It shouldn't come as any surprise to any of us that Russia seeks to influence public opinion, seeks to distort public opinion and is active in relation to that across the world and that Ireland is not immune from that." 

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As Minister for Justice, McEntee said that in order for An Garda Síochána and intelligence units to adequately respond to such threats "we're updating our laws and again making sure that gardaí have the investment that they require to be able to respond".

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has called for the identity of the politician to be publicly revealed to remove the possibility of suspicion being cast upon all members of the Oireachtas, adding that this should be done legally. 

Aontú leader Peadar Toibín has also called on all political parties and Independents in the Oireachtas to urgently carry out an audit of all elected representatives to ensure "no undue influence from Russia or any other country".

Tóibín said that while he was a Sinn Féin TD in 2017, he was approached by a consultancy firm offering him a trip to Russia and a meeting with Vladimir Putin.