Taoiseach suggests Sinn Féin activist's arrest may have 'implications for Leinster House'

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: 'We have seen what happened in Drogheda. We have seen attempts at Ipas centres. I'm aware of individuals who've been threatened, whose family members have been threatened.'

There may be “implications for Leinster House” following confirmation that a Sinn Féin activist who was arrested on terror charges was signed into the building as a guest, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin said there is a “strong basis” to suggest that this has “moved on from individuals” to an “organised attempt to undermine the State”.

Two men appeared in court last week charged with possession of explosives in relation to the cross-border terrorism investigation.

The court heard that charges against Karolis Peckauskas, aged 38, of Newfoundwell Rd, Drogheda, Co Louth, and Garrett Pollock, aged 35, with an address at Kilhorne Green, Annalong, Co Down, arose from a garda investigation into an alleged planned terrorist attack by a right-wing extremist group.

A third man, arrested on Wednesday but released without charge on Thursday evening, was the partner of a female Sinn Féin member expelled from the party after it learned her house was raided as part of the investigation.

The couple were signed into Leinster House twice over the last six months by Sinn Féin Senator Maria McCormack and were photographed with leader Mary Lou McDonald during last year’s election campaign. The man was not a member and two applications to join were rejected.

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Speaking at the Garda passing out ceremony in Templemore, Tipperary, which saw 194 gardaí attest, the Taoiseach said he could not say much about the case but noted Sinn Féin had issued statements.

“We will reflect on all of that in terms of its implications for Leinster House and so on. These are concerning issues.”

Mr Martin also said the rise of far-right extremism is concerning.

“This is very serious. You’re talking about an organisation. You're talking about an organised approach to inflict violence on people.

“We have seen what happened in Drogheda. We have seen attempts at Ipas centres. I'm aware of individuals who've been threatened, whose family members have been threatened.

This now is a very strong basis for indicating that this has moved on from individuals or a general sort of narrative to an organised attempt to undermine the State and to undermine our society, but, above all, to inflict violence on people.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said he was “very concerned” about the details that were disclosed in court in relation to the case and warned that social media companies have obligations, noting that the “law of the land applies”.

“If people are seeking to incite killings, or they're trying to incite violence against individuals, the social media companies have an obligation to comply with that, and they need to be aware of that.”

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said gardaí were not shocked by the case.

“Sometimes we have quite large protest groups of various iterations,” he said. "But the amount of people who are involved in wanting to take violent action, they are limited. There are small numbers of those people.

“No different to [dissident republicans], although they're small, obviously [there is] potential for a lot of dangerous activities. [This] is something we monitor very, very closely.”