IRELAND IS NOT immune from proxies pushing foreign Government influence and approaches to parliamentarians and state officials, multiple sources have told The Journal. 

People with knowledge of the security environment said there have been a number of approaches by foreign Governments, including Russia, in recent years to members of the Oireachtas. 

High-ranking officials at state institutions have also been approached, sources said. 

Assessments found that there was little risk involved as the people targeted did not have significant access to confidential information.

And while there have been numerous incidents, many of them have been investigated and assessed as being part of the normal day-to-day interactions of diplomats seeking to make connections.

Only a small number of incidents have been judged by security services to have more sinister motivations. 

In one of the most serious incidents, a male politician is believed to have been compromised in an attempted blackmail incident following a romantic liaison with another man. This was part of a scheme to find a way to get information or at least influence decision-making on proposed critical State energy infrastructure. 

Who is Cobalt?

A number of senators took to the floor of the Seanad in recent days to declare that they are not Russian spies, after The Sunday Times ran a story saying that Russian intelligence tried to recruit an Irish politician as an agent during Brexit talks, to try to undermine relations between Britain, Ireland and the EU.

The paper also reported that while the Irish military and security services have identified the potential agent – given the code-name Cobalt by the newspaper – they remain a member of the Oireachtas. 

In one lurid incident, the story claimed that a so-called honey trap was used to snare the politician.

The Journal has established that security services believe that the incident in question occurred up to five years ago, and did not end in success for the Russians. 

It is understood that ‘a handful’ of senators and TDs, separate from Cobalt, have been approached in recent years by foreign governments.

Sources said that there has been inappropriate or reckless behaviour by politicians in social gatherings during foreign fact-finding trips that have been reported back home to intelligence officials over concerns that they have put themselves in danger of being compromised. 

Security sources have said that some of the suspicious approaches have been investigated or at least examined by gardaí and Defence Forces intelligence experts. 

As part of these examinations, they have contacted politicians who they feel may be at risk of being further compromised. 

A number of reports have been also made internally to brief senior officers in both organisations regarding various incidents. 

The sources said that the initial approaches to the politicians were often just requests for meetings to discuss policy issues – but were judged to be suspicious given who was involved.

Some of the approaches involved invitations to visit various countries, with suggestions that some of the politicians received boxes of chocolates and vodka from Russian diplomats who may have been intelligence operatives from the Russian foreign espionage agency. 

Many of the apparent initial incidents happened at diplomatic events in embassies in Dublin, and other similar gatherings where both politicians and diplomats had been invited. Often, the initial approaches focused on lobbying for industries and initiatives. 

Officials believe that some of the initial contacts were just basic introductions and that further opportunities may have been planned for a later date to try and get the Oireachtas member closer to the point where they might be useful. 

Multiple security sources said that Russian influence and espionage operations that focused on senators and TDs may have misjudged their ability to provide critical information. 

A source said that the biggest risk of espionage in Ireland is centred around so-called industrial espionage focused on the tech sector. 

There has also been concerns expressed in national security circles about potential interference with the new electricity connector between Ireland and France – with some suspicions that Russian operatives may be examining local opposition to the project. 

Sources repeatedly voice caution but say that the threat from Russia and other countries to Irish interests is real.

But as one source put it: “A lot of this is a calamity of errors – the idea that your average TD or senator has any access to secret information may show that Russian operatives don’t understand how Ireland works. 

“It would be much worse if it was a member of the military or gardaí in a sensitive area.” 

Members of An Garda Síochána have, during the Troubles, been prosecuted for sharing information with the Provisional IRA. 

Circling the wagons

For its part the Government circled the wagons with Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs Tánaiste Micheál Martin stating that he was never briefed about the issue.

Taoiseach Simon Harris appeared to confirm that there is an espionage problem in Ireland and said the security forces were on top of it. 

“I think we need to be alert in Ireland to the fact that we’re not immune from Russian influence,” he said. 

“Russia is a country that seeks to actively influence public debate and discourse, and I think it’s also the statement of fact to say that that level of activity has increased by Russia since their brutal illegal invasion of Ukraine, and therefore the gardaí and our security services obviously monitor these matters very closely.”

He added: “There are bad actors who seek to influence and distort public discourse.”

There is some past evidence of the activities of espionage operatives in Ireland. 

The case of Russian spy Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov aka Victor Mueller shows how Russian spies build a so-called “legend” – he attended Trinity College for a time. 

In February 2022 we also reported on the expansion of the Russian Embassy in Dublin and how it employed more than a dozen intelligence operatives to process information for European agents.

Asked in recent days if the alleged Cobalt should identify themselves to avoid speculation falling on other politicians, Harris said his priority was making sure security services were empowered to keep the country safe.