Politicians from both government and opposition parties have criticised bomb threats against media outlets in Dublin.
On Friday, the RTÉ campus in Donnybrook was evacuated after a bomb threat was made against the state broadcaster.
A similar threat was sent to Bauer Media, the company which owns Newstalk and Today FM, as well as the Irish Independent offices.
On Thursday, dozens of flights across Europe were forced to land after bomb threats, including an Aer Lingus flight which had taken off from Dublin.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews stated it was “not a coincidence” that the threats were made against Irish broadcasters, with Dublin set to host a major EU ministers’ summit next week.
“It is not a coincidence, in my mind, that this occurs days before Ireland hosts a major summit, hosting over 50 leaders. The summit will discuss the security of Europe following the full Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Andrews noted.
“Disruption, confusion, distrust are the aims behind such hybrid attacks,” the Dublin MEP said.
“Airspace violations, drone incursions, online disinformation, cyberattacks on our food chain, bomb threats to flights and now to media outlets. Are all these incidents coordinated? Are state actors behind the attacks?”
“We do not know for sure. But we do know one thing is for sure, that we must work with our European partners and invest in defensive capabilities,” Andrews said.
“European leaders must establish control of the situation. It must be on the agenda next Thursday and people want to see action; this situation cannot continue.”
Social Democrats TD Sineád Gibney said, “these threats against our media deserve the strongest possible condemnation.”
The Dublin Rathdown TD said, “in a time when more and more journalists globally are facing violence and intimidation, I send my support to those affected by what is currently happening across media offices in Dublin, including RTÉ, Newstalk and the Irish Independent, where staff have been evacuated.”
“While the nature of the threat is unclear, the safety of those working in these organisations must be paramount. We must resist attempts to silence and threaten our media wherever they arise,” she said.