Davis says O'Brien not involved 'in any way'

CAMPAIGN LINKS:BUSINESSMAN Denis O'Brien is not "in any way" involved with the campaign of presidential candidate Mary Davis, she said yesterday.

Ms Davis described Mr O’Brien as “caring” and “compassionate” when asked if the findings of the Moriarty tribunal reflected the man she knew.

Speaking to Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio she said Mr O’Brien had “given to the Special Olympics” and “enabled a lot of change” for people with an intellectual disabilities and “across many other areas where he silently gave money as well”.

Ms Davis had “an excellent working relationship” with Mr O’Brien when he was chairman of the 2003 Special Olympic Games in Ireland. “I found him to be interested, to be a great leader, to be motivator” she said. She reiterated he had given the “maximum” donation to her campaign of €2,500.

Ms Davis defended her proposal to appoint a person with an intellectual disability to the Council of State, if elected president. “It’s the abilities we are trying to put forward, not the disabilities,” she said.

A suggestion that the person’s care assistant would be making decisions on the council, “totally undermined the abilities and knowledge that a person with intellectual disabilities can bring to society”, she said. It was important a person “had a right to be represented” on the body.

Ms Davis outlined a proposal to use the seven council members appointed by the president as her “ambassadors” around the country, “promoting the issues” she would be embracing that “are of real concern to people”.

She said there was “nothing in the Constitution” to prevent her from doing this and denied that it was “empire building”.