‘Coordinated efforts’ are being made to intimidate politicians and journalists in Ireland, the Minister for Public Expenditure has said.

On The Hard Shoulder today, Paschal Donohoe said he is concerned by the rise of intimidation techniques, but noted it was coming from a small subset of the population.

A video circulating online shows an RTÉ journalist being surrounded and questioned by attendees of an anti-immigration protest in Coolock last week.

Minister Donohoe said it is a concerning trend.

“There are efforts made to intimidate politicians and increasingly journalists,” he said.

“Is it coordinated on a national level? I don’t know about that - but I fear it might be.

“It’s certainly coordinated at these events themselves.

“This is also feeding into the broader discussion on politics and the discourse around politicians.”

Civil

Minister Donohoe said most of his experiences with the public are civil.

"The overwhelming majority of people are completely civil and completely decent in expressing opinions to politicians and others even when they completely disagree with them,” he said.

“I think we do a disservice to the overwhelming majority of people in our country who recognise the role of politicians and journalists, even if they don’t like us.

“We perhaps amplify a bit too much the voices of a tiny minority of people by giving an indication that they can capture or change the public debate.”

Paschal Donohoe in studio with Kieran Cuddihy today. Image: Newstalk

Minister Donohoe also said he had no interest in becoming party leader after Leo Varadkar resigned last week.

“I’ve been asked this question for years if I’d like to be party leader or Taoiseach and I always say the answer to that question is no,” he said.

“When push came to shove, the answer remained low.

“The reason for that is I’ve lots of ambitions of what I want to do in public life, I have achieved some of them and there is more I want to achieve – but one of those has never been Taoiseach.

“It’s always been about things I’ve wanted to make happen and things I want to do.”

Portfolio

Asked if he would like to keep his current Cabinet portfolio under Simon Harris, Minister Donohoe said he would not answer that question publicly.

“The new Taoiseach will have an incredibly difficult set of decisions to make and I’m not going to make it harder for him,” he said.

“I’m not going to lobby in public or make the case for what I do, it’s up to him.

“He knows me well enough, I’ve worked with him now for many years and I will entirely respect the decision he makes.”
Simon Harris is expected to be elected Taoiseach by the Dail when it returns after Easter recess.

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Main image: Paschal Donohoe in studio today. Image: Newstalk.