The Garda has launched an investigation into death threats made against the Minister for Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, following his comments on protesters at the proposed Bellanaboy gas terminal in Co Mayo.
It comes as Mr Dempsey described the threats as "worrying" but added that the Government's position on the Corrib Gas pipeline and project would not be changed.
A member of staff in Mr Dempsey's office, who took one of two phone calls making threats against the Minister, made a formal statement to gardaí yesterday afternoon.
It is now being investigated by detectives from Harcourt Terrace Garda station in Dublin.
The two calls were made to Mr Dempsey's office at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources on Mespil Road in Dublin.
They were made on Monday afternoon shortly after the broadcast on RTÉ of an interview with Mr Dempsey where he suggested that mediating between Sinn Féin and the DUP would be easier than dealing with the Corrib gas protesters.
Staff at the department contacted the Garda immediately after the threats were made.
Speaking to journalists yesterday about the threats, Mr Dempsey said he was "not going to let it bother me".
He also welcomed the condemnation of the threats by Mark Garavan, one of the leaders of the Shell to Sea campaign.
"Of course it's worrying," he said. "It's the first time in my political career that I've received anything like that, death threats, and it's obviously worrying.
"I'm delighted that Mark Garavan has disassociated himself, and I hope the rest of the campaign from it, but it's not going to change my view."
Mr Dempsey said he did not know who may have made the calls. "The fact that they make that kind of threat against a public representative is a fair indication of the type of people that they are."
He added he did not receive the calls personally. "The calls came into my personal office and they were reported to the gardaí immediately and the gardaí are taking them very seriously." He could not say whether the threats resulted from his comments on radio on Monday.
"I'm not going to try and get into the minds of people who make telephone calls like this . . . Why or for what reason, you can speculate on that yourselves, but it's a thing that shouldn't happen. It's worrying, but it's not going to change the position we have had on this project all along."