Independent candidate Mary Davis has challenged the Fine Gael party over the alleged use of professional pollsters to generate “negative stories” in the presidential campaign.
Speaking in Dublin this morning at the formal launch of her campaign, Ms Davis said most of her rivals were professional politicians who may have thought she would “fold” in the face of criticism.
“Let me tell them – they could not be more wrong. They are reverting to type – engaging in the type of negative campaigning that has made Irish people so cynical about politics," she said.
“Paying money to polling companies may serve the partisan aims of a political party but it does not serve the cause of the debate about our future here in Ireland," she said. “But I know that I can deal with negative stories for one reason – I have nothing to hide.
“Most of what has been written about me is already in the public domain, and I have been willing to be open and transparent in dealing with any queries that have arisen.”
Asked afterwards who was paying for this campaign, she said: “It would appear to me ... that it is driven by Fine Gael.
"I’m rather surprised at that and I would really like if Fine Gael would come out and contradict that," she said. “Gay Mitchell, to me, seems to be a very decent person, so I don’t know why political groups or any candidate would use negative polling in the way that it is being used, but I do know for a fact that it is being used.”
She was also asked about a report in today's Irish Independent that she and her husband Julian were on the board of the charity Social Entrepreneurs Ireland when it hired the services of a PR company where her husband was also a board member.
“We had absolutely nothing to do with the awarding of contracts in public relations and communications or in any other area,” she said.
If elected, she said she would call a series of regional conventions for groups dealing with mental health problems, elderly people living in isolation or poverty, women suffering from exploitation and abuse, people with literacy problems and people living with a disability.
“I will acknowledge people for their outstanding service to Irish life by introducing a Citizen’s Award sponsored by the president.”
She would request the Government to bring the office of President under the Freedom of Information Act and publish an annual report, “with full details of my activities, and detailed income and expenditure accounts for my office and household”.
A spokesman for Fine Gael later rejected Ms Davis's accusations, describing them as "surprising".
