Gardaí investigating an assault on Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae in Dublin’s south inner city on Wednesday have arrested a man.
The suspect was detained in Dublin on Thursday morning.
Earlier, Healy-Rae said he would “not be deterred” from his work after the attack.
He said, however, that a “serious conversation” was needed about the “growing toxicity directed towards politicians and public representatives”.
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Healy-Rae was assaulted while driving on Cork Street in the capital on Wednesday and was treated in St Vincent’s hospital before returning home to Kerry later that night.
In a statement released on Thursday morning, he thanked the gardaí at Kevin Street Garda station, the ambulance crew and the hospital staff who assisted and treated him and expressed gratitude to “the thousands of people from Kerry and across the country who have contacted me and my family”.
“Whatever the intention behind this attack, I will not be deterred from continuing my work or from representing the people of Kerry to the very best of my ability.”
Calling out hostility towards elected representatives, he said: “Disagreement and robust political debate are entirely legitimate, but personal abuse, intimidation and violence can never be accepted or normalised in a democratic society”.
“I’m back in Kerry, I look forward to getting back to work in the coming days and trust the gardaí will find the perpetrator and bring him to justice.”
[ Assault on Michael Healy-Rae increases fears over TD safetyOpens in new window ]
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the assault is a “significant moment” for Irish politics, the implications of which need to be taken very seriously.
Martin said Irish politics has always been unusual in the sense that Oireachtas members and ministers can walk through the streets unhindered.
However, he suggested that situation was now changing.
“It’s not universal across the board, but certain elements are emerging in a sort of aggressive, hostile way to physically assault (politicians). We never had this before,” he said.
Martin, who was in Farmleigh House for a meeting with the president of the European Council Antonio Costa, said he had contacted Healy-Rae by phone last night and had had a conversation with him about the assault. He learned that Healy-Rae had received quite a number of stitches for his wounds.
“His car window is down, he was (stopped) in traffic with traffic lights ahead. Someone comes along and punches him into the mouth and around the head,” said Martin.
“It is very serious and worrying. It is, as the Minister for Justice has said, an attack on democracy.”
Gardaí have appealed for anyone who witnessed or has footage of the incident to come forward.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Jonathan Roberts said gardaí had good CCTV image of the man but said it was difficult to say whether or not the incident was a spontaneous attack, or a more planned event. “It was a very brief incident,” he said.
On the safety of figures in public life, Roberts said a specific operation to provide advice to anybody in public life has been in place since 2024.
Since 2025, the Garda has made some 18 arrests in relation to some form of abuse or offence targeted at people in public positions.
Earlier, the TD’s son Jackie Healy-Rae said his father was “a bit shook” and “a bit sore” after the incident but would not be deterred from doing his job.
He said: “Someone would have to kill him to stop him and I hope that never happens.”
Jackie Healy-Rae, who is a councillor on Kerry County Council, spoke of a “toxicity” around politics that was “fuelled an awful lot by social media”.
He outlined how he was on the phone to his father when the attack took place and he could hear shouting from a distance and then “within seconds, all of a sudden, all you could hear was an awful commotion going on inside in the car as it was happening”.
The attack has been widely condemned by TDs across the political spectrum, who raised further concerns about the security of public representatives.
Michael Healy-Rae sustained at least one blow to the head and was cut in the face in Wednesday’s attack, which happened just after 4pm near the Coombe hospital in the south inner city.
He was in his car at the time – a white Skoda with “Michael Healy-Rae” signage on it.
Gardaí were quickly on the scene and offered assistance to the former minister of state. He was taken to Kevin Street Garda station initially, with paramedics called.
Gardaí believe the attack, on Cork Street, was spur-of-the-moment and that the person who assaulted Healy-Rae was not part of any protest group in the area at the time. The assailant fled the scene.
Michael Healy-Rae’s Thursday afternoon clinic in Tralee will go ahead, but he will not be in attendance, with staff handling constituency matters.
[ Street attack on Michael Healy-Rae a worrying development for our democracyOpens in new window ]
