Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, other media groups evacuated after bomb threat

RTÉ and other media organisations around the country have been evacuated following a bomb threat.

The alarm was raised after an email was sent to the national broadcaster this morning, as well as scores of other media outlets across Ireland and Britain.

Presenters and staff have been evacuated from the buildings on the Donnybrook campus and gardaí are at the scene.

RTÉ has moved to pre-recorded programmes as a precautionary measure, however RTÉ's Today programme on Radio 1 remains on air from the broadcaster's roadcaster.

The buildings are being searched at the moment, with garda sniffer dogs on site.

The broadcaster has said the safety of its staff and personnel are paramount and normal services will resume as soon as possible following consultation with gardaí.

The offices of Mediahaus and Independent News Media have also evacuated its offices on Talbot Street in Dublin as a precautionary measure.

Staff who were also planning to come in to the office have been advised to work from home instead until the alert is over.

Virgin Media also received the threat but have not evacuated and continue to broadcast.

In a statement, gardaí said they are "aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe."

"An Garda Síochána has been liaising with the Irish media organisations, and the threats will be investigated."

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said gardaí and the Defence Forces are investigating the threats which have been made to RTÉ, Newstalk and other organisations, but it is too early to say if the threats come from an individual or have been coordinated.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh, he said employers who receive such threats should take them seriously and report them to gardaí.

"It is a matter for experts to asses," he said, adding that he would "prefer to get a more comprehensive security briefing" later today.

He said the Government is confident that it has measures in place ahead of next week's EU meetings of leaders in Dublin to deal with such threats.

The threat purportedly comes from those behind a series of hoax bomb threats which affected at least 27 flights across Europe yesterday, as well as further alerts earlier in the week.

Some Aer Lingus and Ryanair flights were among those impacted.

Tánaiste Simon Harris described the situation as "very serious".

In an interview with the Opinion Line on Cork's 96FM, Mr Harris said the situation was "evolving in real time."

"There is a very serious and evolving situation this morning and obviously this comes on the back of a number of bomb scares yesterday and in recent days in relation to airlines as well.

"It is fair to say we don’t yet know who is responsible for what is happening this morning. We don’t yet know whether its an individual behind this effort or some form of a coordinated effort.

"What I do want to ensure the people of this country is that this is an issue being taken very seriously by the gardaí, by our security forces and our cyber experts. They are working now on this issue.

"Of course they will be liaising as appropriate with European counterparts as well. The priority is that people are safe. We need to work to identify the culprits as well. I want people to know we are alive to these risks.".

Social Democrats media spokesperson Sinéad Gibney said the threats made against the media organisations "deserve the strongest possible condemnation".

"In a time where more and more journalists globally are facing violence and intimidation, I send my support to those affected by what is currently happening across media offices in Dublin, including RTÉ, Newstalk and the Irish Independent, where staff have been evacuated.

"While the nature of the threat is unclear, the safety of those working in these organisations must be paramount. We must resist attempts to silence and threaten our media wherever they arise."