FAKE news tactics could be used to target Irish voters in next year's European elections, a senior Dublin politician has warned.

Fine Gael senator Neale Richmond said right wing campaigners may see Ireland as a soft target after Brexit.

Richmond, whose party leader is Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, said there had been an "attempted start of a Eurosceptic Brexit movement" in Ireland, and claimed that former Ukip leader Nigel Farage's group of MEPs had turned their attentions to the country.

Elections to the European Parliament are taking place in Ireland and other EU nations in May 2019. The UK will not be part of the vote due to Brexit.

"Concerns have been raised by myself and others about the potential Russian influence over Irish politics, Russia Today has an office of five staff in Dublin for example but there is no overtly far right or even Eurosceptic grouping thankfully in Ireland at this stage," he said.

"What we have seen though has been an attempted start of a Eurosceptic Brexit movement.

"Nigel Farage's European Parliament grouping poured huge money into a kick off event he was addressing in Dublin last February with a truly base and utterly fraudulent campaign video advertised online.

"Thankfully the event only attracted a couple of hundred people, while a recent opinion poll found Irish people to now be 92 per cent pro EU."

Richmond, Fine Gael's Europe spokesman in the Seanad - the Irish parliament's upper house - said tactics similar to those used by data firm Cambridge Analytica could be employed by Eurosceptics hoping to make inroads in Ireland.

Cambridge Analytica is accused of harvesting the data of 50 million Facebook users without permission and failing to delete it when told to.

Former Cambridge Analytica staffer turned whistleblower Christopher Wylie recently told MPs that Vote Leave and other pro-Brexit groups sought to target swing voters, using information drawn from the consultancy's databases.

Richmond said Eurosceptics may seek to use similar tactics in next year's European elections in Ireland.

He also warned of American and Russian interference in Irish politics.

Facebook and Google banned foreign adverts ahead of Ireland’s landslide vote to legalise abortion last month.

Richmond said there was a “heavy American influence” in the recent referendum.

“From early on in our recent referendum campaign we saw a surge of online advertising from a range of new groups," he said.

“It was unclear who was directly financing these groups and if they were in contravention of Irish campaign finance laws.

"On social media we saw multiple pages using the same messaging, imagery and language to target groups under different umbrellas.

"There was certainly a heavy American influence on the No campaign and a genuine concern that the adverts were being placed by American groups either directly or through proxy new groups.

"The proliferation of Twitter bots during the referendum and in relation to Brexit has been very evident and they follow the standard profile of such accounts."

Richmond's fears were echoed by Brian Hayes, an MEP for Fine Gael.

He added: "The point is well made as we are quite exposed on this, as are any democratic societies.

"We saw attempts at outside influence in the abortion referendum.

"We know of the dangers of fake news and misleading adverts."

Richmond and Hayes spoke out after SNP MEP Alyn Smith addressed an event in Dublin about "false news and the European election".

Smith said that a similar right wing force to Ukip could emerge in Ireland.

He said: "I’ve said to all the colleagues in Brussels that I see the ingredients of Brexit in every EU member state.

"I think we need to stop pretending that there isn’t an organised, professional and motivated campaign underway to weaken Europe’s democracy and solidarity.

"Ukip and their merry band of cranks, shysters, oddballs and useful idiots, and they were indeed the sideshow, to distract us from a deeply professional, well resourced, well motivated campaign to neuter left and right in UK public opinion and paralyse the political mainstream.

"And fake news was the major plank in their campaign, sustained, widespread and increasingly targeted."

In response, former Ukip leader Farage said he would be happy to assist Eurosceptics in Ireland.

However, he insisted he was not formally organising any campaign.

Farage said: "There is a much stronger strain of Euroscepticism in Ireland than people like Neale Richmond give credit for.

"They assume that everyone loves the EU, but the Irish have rejected two European treaties in the last 20 years."

Farage added: "I believe there will be a coming together of a list (of Eurosceptics) in Ireland for the next European elections.

"If they want my advice, I will happily give it, but am I organising in Ireland? No I'm not.

"Ireland does not have a Eurosceptic party so there is a very big gap to be filled."