Visit by Government figures to North prompts heightened security

A heightened security operation, involving the Garda and Police Service of Northern Ireland, will be put in place when senior members of the Government go to Northern Ireland following an increase in the threat level posed to them by loyalist groups.

Threatening graffiti targeting Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney appeared in loyalist areas in recent weeks, and is being taken seriously by the PSNI and Garda.

The European Commission temporarily withdrew staff from ports in Northern Ireland last month, where they were monitoring post-Brexit trade. On that occasion, threatening graffiti appeared, apparently prompted by anger within loyalism over a trade border being imposed between the North and the UK mainland under the Northern Ireland protocol.

Some of the graffiti that has appeared more recently has included claimed home addresses for Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney, who are regarding as having pushed hard for the protocol during negotiations.

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The threat level around them is regarded as much higher than that around the EU workers withdrawn from ports last month.

If either of the Fine Gael politicians, or Taoiseach Micheál Martin, goes to the North, heightened security and related procedures would be put in place, informed security sources said. They said the appearance of graffiti did not mean a violent attack was imminent, but that the “temperature” had risen within some sections of loyalism.

In reply to queries, Garda Headquarters in Dublin said: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on security matters relating to VIPs.”

A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said security arrangements for all Ministers were a matter for An Garda Síochána.

Armed security

The Garda recently increased armed security around Mr Varadkar while he is in the Republic. This has come mainly in response to the loyalist graffiti but also because of threats made to him from a variety of quarters.

“You are talking about far-right people, anti-mask, anti-vaccine and some of it would be from those you might call religious extremists and based on homophobia,” said one source familiar with the situation.

While Cabinet ministers all previously had armed gardaí with them, and at times providing security outside their homes, this was scaled back as part of Garda cutbacks during the recession. Sources said the Taoiseach was well protected and that the increased armed Garda resources now around Mr Varadkar were not higher than those for Mr Martin.