Speaking today, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the Government does not comment on matters of security.
He added that it “shouldn’t come as any surprise to any of us that Russia seeks to influence public opinion, seeks to distort public opinion, and is active in relation to that across the world, and that Ireland is not immune from that”.
The Taoiseach was responding to reports in today’s Sunday Times that the discovery of an Irish politician allegedly bring recruited by Russian intelligence was made after an investigation by Irish military and security services.
Sergey Prokopiev, a Russian spy, worked as a counsellor at his country’s embassy in Orwell Road, Dublin, from 2019 to 2022.
He is reported to have headed up the intelligence operation that recruited the politician, who allegedly uses his influence within the Oireachtas.
Nicknamed “Cobalt” for legal reasons, it is one of Ireland’s most closely guarded secrets.
Entrance to the Russian embassy in Dublin. Photo: Getty
Their dealings came to attention after Cobalt and Mr Prokopiev were monitored meeting outside Dublin.
The politician is reported to have offered to help make connections with paramilitaries in Northern Ireland during Brexit negotiations – despite not having had any public or private political engagement with paramilitaries during his career.
The agent has been monitored by both the military and the gardai.
Speaking today, Taoiseach Simon Harris continued; “We’ve also seen a very significant increase in that level of activity since the brutal, illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine over the last number of years.
“The gardai and our security services take all of these issues extremely seriously, monitor these issues extremely seriously, and work with international counterparts on all of these matters. And I have great confidence in the ability of the Gardi working with international counterparts. We never comment on security issues for very good reasons,” he added.
Asked if it’s in the public’s interest to know the alleged agent is, Mr Harris said that as Taoiseach, he is satisfied that the Gardai and our intelligence services working internationally with counterparts take this issue “very, very seriously.”
“Not commenting is not giving a view one way or the other. It’s saying that we don’t ever put information in relation to national security into the public domain. That’s not to say that these matters aren’t taken extraordinary seriously,” he said.
The Sunday Times today reports that when special branch officers with the gardaí told the politician that he was being targeted by Russians, he did not show immediate concern and this is what raised their suspicions further.
However, no evidence of payments into any of his bank accounts were found.
It is also believed his internet browsing history may have been intercepted when travelling abroad.
And the honeypot method, whereby an agent makes their target fall for them romantically, was also used by the Russians in an attempt to further compromise the politician.
It is the first known case of infiltration of the Oireachtas by a hostile intelligence service.
Some people believe Cobalt’s connection to the Russians remains intact today.
He cannot be arrested or charged due to not having committed a crime.
He lacks access to intelligence or classified information but he remains a person of interest to the security services, The Sunday Times report added.
