Online abuse could drive a politician to suicide, former TD warns

Former TD John Halligan said fear of online abuse was driving people, particularly women, away from politics. File Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

Former Independent TD for Waterford John Halligan has said he fears a future TD may be driven to suicide if something is not done to protect politicians from online abuse. 

Mr Halligan said that because of their position in the public eye there was a perception that politicians were somehow not subject to the same sensitivities as anyone else.

"There’s a perception that you don’t feel pain or hurt, that you don’t go to a quiet place and say, 'Jesus, why am I getting this abuse?'," he said. 

Drawing on his own experiences, Mr Halligan said he had once received online messages from someone warning him that they had tampered with his car. 

The former TD said he had always received some criticism online, but that it was taken to a new level following the pro-choice stance he took on the abortion referendum. 

Mr Halligan said the issue had only gotten worse since he left politics. 

If nothing was done, he said, a vulnerable politician might consider hurting themselves. 

"If you look at the abuse, and people might not like me saying this, but you look at what online abuse has done to some people, it has led to some people committing suicide," he told  RTÉ Radio 1 with Brendan O’Connor.

TDs are not above ordinary people, they suffer and they have feelings and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that if something is not done, that is what might happen. That is my fear.

Mr Halligan said his daughter thought for a time about entering politics, but reconsidered after reading and seeing interviews in which female politicians described the personalised online attacks made against them.

"This will prohibit younger people and particularly young women from coming into politics if it cannot be stopped. And to be quite frank with you, I don’t know how it can be stopped."

Agreeing with Mr Halligan's points, former Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins spoke of the "relentless, continuous bombardment" she endured in her relatively short political career.

Former Labour Senator, Lorraine Higgins. File Picture

She said she received countless online messages threatening her with sexual violence and rape. She also received death threats.

Ms Higgins reported several incidents to gardaí, the most menacing of which ended in a suspended sentence for the perpetrator.

"I was sent videos of people shooting, guns, I was told what gun they were going shoot me with, I was told how they were going to shoot me.

"I was told they were training over a bank holiday weekend to make sure that they had their target perfected," she said.

The Former Labour Senator said her parents were also threatened.

Mr Halligan said what happened and continued to happen to Lorraine Higgins and other female politicians was "beyond belief."

"It will drive people out of politics and stop people entering politics," he said.

There was a "sinister element" whose thought process was "if we can beat down a politicians one way or another, we’ll do it," he added.

Both Mr Halligan and Ms Higgins called for additional supports for politicians from inside and outside Government.