Russian activity in Ireland should come as no surprise to anyone, the Irish premier has said, amid reports that the Kremlin used a “honeytrap” to recruit an Irish politician.
Simon Harris, the taoiseach, was commenting after it was reported that a member of the Irish parliament had been enlisted by Russian intelligence as an agent during the Brexit talks.
A Russian spy, operating in Ireland under diplomatic cover, reportedly cultivated the parliamentarian in order to undermine relations between London, Dublin and the EU.
Ireland’s intelligence services were reportedly monitoring the Irish politician when he met a high-ranking Russian military intelligence officer at a location outside Dublin, according to the Sunday Times.
Security officials told the newspaper that the unnamed politician pledged to do everything he could to assist the spy.
The parliamentarian is reported to have offered to establish relations between Moscow and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland at a delicate point during the Brexit talks, despite having no obvious connection to such groups.
The Russians had allegedly used an attractive female agent as a “honeytrap” to ensnare the politician in a compromising romantic situation to gain leverage over him.
Code-named ‘Cobalt’
The paper also reported that the potential agent, code-named Cobalt, remains in the Irish parliament despite being identified by the Irish military and security services.
It is understood that the politician did not have access to sensitive government materials and has not committed a crime.
Asked about the report in Dublin on Sunday, Mr Harris said he would not comment on matters of security, but added: “It shouldn’t come as any surprise to any of us that Russia seeks … to distort public opinion and is active in relation to that across the world, and that Ireland is not immune from that.”
He added: “We’ve also seen a very significant increase in that level of activity since the brutal invasion by Russia of Ukraine.”
Pressed to say if he knew who the alleged agent was, Mr Harris said: “We never comment on this kind of thing. I’m not sure of any country does comment in relation to security matters.
“But I can tell you that as taoiseach I am satisfied that our gardai and our intelligence services, working internationally with counterparts, take this issue very, very seriously.”