Almost half of TDs have been threatened online in the last 12 months, according to a survey of 50 TDs by Prime Time.
Some 23 TDs, or 46% of those who responded to a survey sent to all 160 TDs, said they have been threatened, while 44% said that they have taken additional safety measures in the last five years due to threats or abuse.
Almost all, or 96%, of TDs who responded said that they have been abused on social media at some stage. Almost one in five, or 18%, said they are abused on a daily basis, while the same number said that are abused at least once a week.
Some of the abuse mentioned by TDs is related to the State's policy on vaccines or aimed at TDs perceived to have a pro-immigration stance.
Female TDs reported misogyny in online attacks and even vandalism. One TD said her constituency office was daubed with graffiti of male genitalia, while others mentioned being abused with crude language.
"The language is vicious, particularly online," said Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond.
"It's personalised, it's direct, it's threatening, and there seems to be no filter. It's just so much easier for people to say things anonymously to a very large public audience."
One former minister said that he had been physically assaulted on the street by two men with anti-immigrant views.
The former minister, who spoke to Prime Time on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to draw attention to his situation, said that, on another occasion, a message threatening his family was sent to him.
"It was scary," he said.
Mr Richmond said that political hostility may be a bigger problem in other countries, including in the UK, where two MPs have been murdered in recent years, Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative MP David Amess in 2021.
Since the Amess murder, Wales MP Virginia Crosbie has begun wearing a stab vest due to concerns for her safety when meeting with constituents.
"I want to be out in the community meeting my constituents, listening to their concerns and meeting them face-to-face. And I don't want to have to wear a stab jacket," she told Prime Time.
"After the terrible murder of Sir David Amess I sat down with my team to work out how I could do my job safely. That meant, unfortunately, wearing a stab jacket [and] having private police protection."
Despite the challenges and the often vitriolic abuse from a minority, only nine of the 50 TDs who responded to the Prime Time poll said that they would not recommend a career in politics to younger people.
The 50 TDs who took part in the survey came from across the parliamentary political spectrum.
