Green Party TD Patrick Costello has said that candidates for election should not have to publish their home addresses.
Costello issued a letter the issue to local government minister Kieran O’Donnell and the Electoral Commission saying that the practice needs to end before next summer’s local and European elections “due to the dangers it poses to people running for office.”
“In today’s digital age, where personal information can easily be accessed and exploited, the presence of home addresses on ballot papers poses a significant safety risk,” Costello wrote.
“This is especially true in light of the rise in activity of individuals on the far-right. Such individuals seek to portray elected leaders as ‘sellouts’ and ‘traitors’, which is designed to intimidate and spark violence.”
The letter calls for action in light of a number of incidents where homes of politicians were targeted, including a recent incident in Ballybrack where a window in the family home of councillor Hugh Lewis was smashed by anti-refugee protesters.
Condemning the attack, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said “whatever views people may have, there is no excuse for attacking any individual or attacking their property.”
Varadkar also noted that in speaking to potential candidates for next year’s local elections, “they are my age and younger, some are women, and they do express concerns about safety or the impact on the family life, or abuse on social media.”
Speaking to the more needs to be done to protect politicians.”
“We have seen politicians’ homes attacked and politicians being physically attacked. It has emerged that members of the Housing Commission have also been threatened. There are clearly organised groups threatening our democracy and we have to protect our society.”
“Requiring a home address to be published on a ballot paper is unnecessarily inviting trouble. It’s not just politicians at risk here — journalists, librarians, teachers have all been recently targeted with intimidation and violence – we need to push back against those who want to undermine political and democratic rights in Ireland today.”
Referring to the incident in Ballybrack, the Dublin South Central TD said “the fact that the father of Councillor Lewis was the only individual at home at the time highlights a further risk with this publically available information. Politicians’ friends and family, by virtue of association, are at risk.”
Costello’s call follows in the wake of Fine Gael senator Mary Seery Kearney calling for an allowance granted to Oireachtas members for personal security to be extended to councillors.
Senator Kearney said “it is very disturbing for any public representative to be threatened in such a way. For TDs and senators, the announcement of a security fund is at least some small comfort in assisting them to upgrade their own security but this allowance is not yet available for councillors.”
Costello’s wife, Green Party Councillor Hazel Chu, has been a frequent target of abuse since her election in 2019, and said that while calls for action on the issue are appreciated, she said the root causes needed to be addressed.
“We’ve been saying this for a long time, that councillors need more protection, especially in light of everything that’s happened in recent weeks,” Councillor Chu said.
“The question is what would you do? Without the legislation and Garda backup, there’s only so much you could do – I appreciate all of the support from other politicians, but I just don’t know if anything will work without properly resourcing and tackling the issue at source.”