'There's no point condemning threats if we continue using abusive language', Minister says
James Cox
As the Dáil returns amid recent threats to politicians, a Government minister has said "there is no point in condemning this abuse if we continue to use abusive language".
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Minister of State Neale Richmond called on his colleagues, both in government and opposition, to find a way to "disagree agreeably" and "tone down the venom" in political debates.
Addressing the recent campaign of abuse against Tánaiste Simon Harris, Mr Richmond condemned the abuse and said the coordinated nature of it was "extremely worrying".
Gardaí have sought Interpol assistance as concerns rise over the recent series of threats made against Mr Harris.
Callers recently phoned into Garda stations claiming there was a bomb at Mr Harris' family home in Greystones, Co Wicklow.
A woman from west Dublin was arrested two weeks ago after allegedly posting a threat to abduct Mr Harris' children.
Mr Richmond said: "Politics has always been a bit coarse, abuse of politicians is nothing new. Sadly in America, assassinations of politicians is nothing new.
"What is new is, I would argue, is the accessibility of politicians, particularly through social media. A message can be sent 24/7 via a multitude of platforms.
"There has been an increased level of venom in the messages since Covid, everyone has reported that, there has been an awful lot of focus on female politicians in particular.
"Recently we saw a very clear coordinated campaign against the Tánaiste and his family which is extremely worrying, and something we need to talk about. We need to condemn it and we need to challenge it.
"I put up a couple of pieces of me talking about it on social media last week, I deliberately left the comments on and some of them were just vile. How do people think this is alright, saying politicians deserve to be abused? Nobody deserves to be abused for doing their job.
"We can take criticism, we can take debate, we can lose our seats in elections, that's all perfectly normal. But we do have to call out the level of coarseness, and indeed lead on this."
Mr Richmond, who is Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, also said it was the role of politicians to tone down abusive language, particularly when tensions are high in Dáil debates.
He said the new term provides an opportunity to debate in a more civil manner, and said labels like 'treason' and 'traitor' should not be used.
"There is no point in politicians condemning this abuse and these attacks if we ourselves continue to use very abusive language that I would argue is below us. That is something I am really focused on in the coming weeks and months, how can we as politicians lead in terms of changing the tone of the debate?
"It is a challenge... I am guilty of it in the past, being a little bit too salty on social media or letting my emotions get to me, where we stray from the political or the policy to the personal.
'Disagree agreeably'
"We need to be able to say that we don't do that, that is part of it as well as the legal work in relation to social media and in terms of anyone who makes these threats online being brought before the courts.
"I think we should make this a priority, a new term resolution if you want to call it that, that we need to be able to demonstrate that we can disagree agreeably.
"Look at politics in the United States and the United Kingdom, continental Europe, it is laced with really vicious tones. When we use our language, using terms like 'traitor' or 'treason', that sort of thing has no place.
"I fundamentally believe that every single member of the Dáil, Seanad and local authorities, believe it or not we're trying to do the same thing in making people's lives a bit easier and helping people."
He added: "We're just trying to do it in different ways, that's where the disagreement should be. There isn't a monopoly on empathy between government and opposition."
Mr Richmond said many public representatives have a lot in common, despite coming from different backgrounds and parties.
"Noone would have known I had a great exchange with a Sinn Féin TD before the summer recess at midnight, thanking me for coming in to take the debate. We had a cup of tea before we went into the chamber, he gave me a present of a book he'd finished reading on an area of French history I have an interest in. Those sort of gestures are far more common than we let on.
"Look at American politics in particular. Or at the height of the Brexit days talking to friends who are MPs and they'd say 'I'm blocked by party colleagues on social media', that was how visceral things had become."
He alos expressed concerns that ongoing threats like the ones Mr Harris has received may change the nature of Irish politics, and make TDs less accessible to their constituents.
"We've heard about people getting a hold of TDs' numbers and ringing through the night leaving vile messages. Politics is about involvement, the population being represented by their peers, I fear for the day any TD has to think twice about having a constituency office, holding clinics, about knocking on doors.
"You go to the US and you see the cavalcade of security required by the president, members of Congress, etc.
"Despite what some online trolls say, our elected representatives are all of the people, we don't live in ivory towers. We all live in normal houses and are of our community.
"People see you out and about and know you are accessible. There are MPs in the UK who don't even live in their constituencies.
"If you want a level of coarsening in politics that leads to threats you won't be able to access politicians as easily."
Returning to the point of setting a better tone for debate, Mr Richmond said it was the job of all politicians to "change the temperature".
"I do have faith that if politicians show we can disagree agreeably, I think that will change the temperature a bit.
"We can show our debates can be spirited and passionate but we have to be able to draw a line, we don't need rules in a book we just need to know we are all decent people trying to do the right thing, why can't we show that a bit more?
"Just because we can be collegiate doesn't mean we agree on everything. That can be tough, particularly when you're dealing with complex issues."
