Simon Harris has thanked his supporters for their ‘friendship’ during a difficult week that saw threats made against his family.
On Monday, it emerged that gardaí were investigating a threat made to the Tánaiste and his family over the weekend.
The dad-of-two shared a strongly-worded statement about the incident at the time and has now released another, thanking everyone for their support.
Alongside a new photo of himself with his two children, Saoirse and Cillian, looking over a fence, Simon wrote: ‘Thanks for the friendship this week. It means a lot to me and my family.
‘We really do need to take action on online safety, particularly for children and more broadly consider the toxicity in public discourse that is becoming normalised. For me, I won’t be deterred. Lots of work to get on with and it is an absolute honour to serve. But I won’t be robotic either. We’re all human.'
Simon signed off his message by saying he was 'off to Oxford now for discussion on how reconciliation in Northern Ireland and how the Irish and British governments can work together on this.’
Simon is dad to two little ones, a daughter named Saoirse, and a son named Cillian, whom he shares with his wife Caoimhe.
The Tánaiste didn't mince his words when speaking about the threats that were made against his family earlier in the week, saying that he believes targeting children is 'despicable.'
He shared a strongly worded statement, condemning the actions, both as a father and a political leader. 'This weekend, I received direct threats targeting my family,' he told his followers.
The dad of two continued, adding: 'As a father, I have very strong views and feelings on this, as you can imagine. As a political leader, I find it unacceptable in every way.
'Let me be clear: threatening people - any person - is a crime. Threatening children is despicable. It is cowardice, and it is a line that no decent society should tolerate being crossed.'
The threat, which gardaí treated as serious, was posted on social media on Sunday. The Fine Gael leader alerted gardaí of the matter.
The investigation is being conducted by gardaí from Wicklow and specialist units, including the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) and the Special Detective Unit (SDU).
Gardaí are concerned about the nature of the threat, which is also directed at members of Mr Harris's family.
Protesters previously turned up outside the Tánaiste's home in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, where his wife and children also live. Mr Harris previously said he will not be deterred from doing his job.
Garda HQ confirmed the matter is under investigation on Monday but would not confirm the nature of the threat.
