A NUMBER OF Senators took to the floor of the Seanad today to declare that they are not Russian spies. 

It comes after The Sunday Times reported that Russian intelligence used a “honeytrap” to recruit an Irish politician as an agent during the Brexit talks, with one of the aims being to undermine relations between Britain, Ireland and the EU.

The paper also reported that while the Irish military and security services identified the potential agent, code-named Cobalt, they remain in the country’s parliament.

In the Seanad this afternoon, while discussing the order of business for the day, a number of politicians used their speaking time to declare that they were not the alleged person in question.

Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley was the first to make the declaration. 

After posing an amendment to the order of business, Dooley said: “Finally, some rumours are circulating that Members of the Upper House have been involved with Russia and that there may or may not be a spy in our midst.”

Cathaoirleach Jerry Buttimer reminded him to “be careful” with the words he used, to which Dooley replied: “I’m around a while, I can manage this one.”

He continued: “In order to avoid any potential stain on this House, I suggest that Members would voluntarily make a statement that they are not the subject of any investigation or that they have never been in the clutches of Russia.

“And before I sit down, I declare that I am not such a person, and I hope everybody will use the opportunity to declare that they are not a Russian spy.”

Buttimer then reminded members in the Seanad that nobody has been named as the politician allegedly recruited by Russia.

“I too, like Senator Dooley, am not one of those people either,” Buttimer added, which was met with laughter from the chamber.

Fianna Fáil’s Fiona O’Loughlin and Fine Gael’s Maria Byrne followed by declaring that they were not Russian spies either. 

Malcolm Byrne also joined in. “I will also say that I am not a spy. I have no doubt that Senator Dooley is not a Russian spy either,” the Fianna Fáil senator said. 

Earlier this week, Green Party TD Eamon Ryan called for the identity of the politician to be publicly revealed, while Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called on all parties and independents to audit TDs and Senators to “ensure no undue influence from Russia or any other country”.

Tóibín said that in 2017, he was approached by a consultancy firm and “offered a trip with a five-star hotel and to meet Vladimir Putin”.

He said he was not interested in the offer “given the anti-democratic nature of Putin”.

Speaking in Washington today, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was limited in what he could say on matters relating to national security, but added: “I think we need to be alert in Ireland to the fact that we’re not immune from Russian influence.

“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.”

Asked if 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.