Presidential candidate Dana Rosemary Scallon said today she would not answer any further questions about her US citizenship, arguing it was "disgusting" that a private family matter had been "dragged across the airwaves".
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Pat Kenny show this morning, Ms Scallon said she would "step out of the campaign" if her family were brought into it.
Ms Scallon’s sister Susan Stein gave evidence in 2008 that she discussed her sister’s citizenship with Dana’s husband, Damien Scallon, and Dana’s brother and adviser in her current presidential campaign, John Brown, during the presidential contest in 1997.
“When she ran for the presidential election in Ireland, John and Damien and I had a meeting,” Ms Stein told the US court. “She had just acquired her American citizenship, at the same time she was running for president of a foreign country, and the decision was made that it wouldn’t look very good if the people of Ireland knew she was an American citizen.”
Ms Scallon said last week her husband and her brother could not remember the conversation.
“It was a turbulent court case. We worked our way through it and I’m trying to patch up my family. I don’t want any more questions about it,” she said today.
Ms Scallon showed presenter Pat Kenny a document showing that she did not become an American citizen until October 1999 She said she would be prepared to give up her US citizenship if she became president but added that she “didn’t see it as a disadvantage".
She added: “It was the proper thing for us to do while we were living there."
Asked about her views on same sex marriage and what she would do if a Bill came before her as as President extending civil partnership to marriage, Ms Scallon said she was “sick and tired” of being discriminated against because of her Catholicism and denied it would cause her difficulty if Bills on abortion or same sex marriage came before her.
"Would it be pretty difficult for someone is pro-abortion rights like the Labour candidate or for someone who is pro-gay marriage like the Fine Gael candidate and all the Independents? Why are they not asked how they would uphold our Consitution as it stands? Our Constitution clearly states that marriage is based on a man and a woman and the life of the unborn child being equal to the mother, " she said.
“Do not discriminate against me because I am Catholic. I am sick and tired of being grilled. I will always respect the will of the people.”