Meath's female councillors receive disturbing, harassing calls

A number of Meath councillors are among up to 70 female county councillors across Ireland who have received highly disturbing, harassing phone calls containing disturbing sexual comments over the last weeks.

As concerns over the persistent nature and content of the calls intensifies, Chief Executive of Meath County Council, Kieran Kehoe has furnished councillors with details on how to screen calls as well as garda contacts.

Cllr Maria Murphy, chair of the Meath Women's Caucus, who received two calls, said she found them highly disturbing and the man involved needs to be caught and dealt with by the gardai.

"I received two of these calls and immediately started notifying all my female colleagues. The number of phone calls has escalated. Initially it seemed to be Fine Gael councillors he called, but councillors from all parties are now being targeted.Some of my colleagues were getting 10 to 16 calls a day.

"I didn't engage at all and they stopped after two," she said.

Cllr Caroline O'Reilly said she'd had a lot of calls from him. "I felt the contents of the call were more disturbing than the number of calls and I hope that he is caught."

Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Sarah Reilly said she want to acknowledge the swift action of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and Meath County Council in responding to the abuse by female Councillors.

"I also want to acknowledge the vital response of Cllr Maria Murphy, Chair of the Meath Women’s Caucus, who has consistently championed the safety and participation of women in local government.

"Personally, I have a long-standing policy of not answering "No Caller ID" calls for exactly this reason. This systemic targeting of public representatives is a threat to democracy, and we must take a collective stand to eliminate it entirely. No public representative should experience abuse of any description, but the content of the abuse that was given during these calls was particularly depraved.

"We are working in close lockstep with regional bodies and local law enforcement to ensure our members are protected while executing their civic duties. We will not allow anonymous, toxic hostility to deter women from serving their local communities."

Kieran Kehoe said; "I want to assure our female colleagues that you have the full support of the executive of Meath County Council, and if there are any cases of such abuse experienced by any of you, please advise us, and we will also refer to the local Gardai. I want to commend AILG for their email and our teams are available to support you all re the security allowance and best practice as well re screening phone calls etc."

Cllr Nick Killian, the Meath representative of the Aossociation for Local Government (AILG) said he hoped the gardai catches "this horrible person" who is making life a misery for these councillors.

"I have spoken to my female colleagues and they are annoyed and angry" he said.

AILG has expressed its serious concern about the distressing telephone calls.

"AILG has been made aware of a number of incidents involving repeated calls from an individual who has subjected female elected members from across the political spectrum to disturbing and inappropriate sexual comments. To date, AILG has received reports only from female councillors, indicating that this behaviour appears to be a targeted campaign of harassment against women serving in local government."

AILG President, Cllr Aengus O’ Rourke, said: "No female elected representative should be subjected to harassment, intimidation or abusive behaviour simply because she has chosen to serve her community. The reports we have received are deeply concerning and point to what appears to be a deliberate campaign targeting women in public office.

"Women in local government should never have to accept harassment as part of their role. AILG stands firmly with every councillor who has been affected. We are working with An Garda Síochána and will continue to support our female members while encouraging anyone affected to report every incident."

The matter has been reported to An Garda Síochána, who have advised that they are closely monitoring the situation. AILG is encouraging any female councillor who receives calls of this nature to report each incident to their local Garda Liaison Officer and to retain details of the calls where possible.

Head of Operations, Elaine Lynch said: "Following reports from our female members, AILG has contacted every female councillor in the country to make them aware of the situation, provide practical guidance on screening telephone calls and advise them on reporting incidents to their local Garda Liaison Officer.

"While this behaviour has been directed at female councillors, it is an attack on local democracy itself. Women should not have to endure intimidation or sexual harassment as a consequence of holding elected office. We want every female councillor to know that she has the full support of AILG, and we will continue to work alongside An Garda Síochána to ensure members receive the advice, support and protection they need."

AILG is also asking members of the public to be mindful that female councillors may now be exercising greater caution when receiving calls from withheld or private numbers. Where possible, members of the public are asked not to contact councillors from private or withheld numbers. Instead, please leave a voicemail, send a text message or email, or use the published contact details available through your local authority. This will help councillors distinguish genuine enquiries from nuisance or harassing calls while ensuring legitimate constituents can continue to access their elected representatives.