A section of the Leinster House complex was evacuated this evening because of an electrical fault.

Labour TD Pat Rabbitte was one of the first people to break the news on Twitter with a tweet “Immediate evacuation of Leinster House now in progress” just before 6pm.

It appeared that an electrical fault was discovered in LH2000, the new wing of Leinster House, which hosts Oireachtas committee meetings and is home to the political party offices.

While people have often been shocked by proceedings at the Oireachtas committee meetings, there was a fear that they could get a shock of a different kind if they remained in the building as there was a risk of a power surge.

Monday evening is one of the quietest times of the week at Leinster House so not many people were affected by the evacuation and most staff members.