Presidency campaigning continues

Campaigning for the presidency is continuing today in the wake of the first televised leaders' debate on Friday night.

Campaigning for the presidency is continuing today in the wake of the first televised leaders' debate on Friday night.

Independent candidate Seán Gallagher has launched his campaign in Dublin, while fellow independent David Norris will be attending to the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness and Fine Gael rival Gay Mitchell clashed repeatedly earlier this morning on a radio show.

Responding to comments from Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan in a Sunday newspaper that US multinational companies would be "appalled" if Mr McGuinness was elected president, Mr McGuinness said the Minister should "catch himself on".

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"I'm not surprised some elements, particularly within the political establishment and within elements of the media . . . would resort to, what amounts to effectively, a dirty tricks campaign," he said on Newstalk.

"This is total and absolute nonsense. Peter Robinson and I have brought thousands of jobs to the North as a result of our contacts with senior executives with multinational companies in the United States. Phil Hogan wants to catch himself on and wants to deal with the reality. It shows how little he knows about the North."

According to the Sunday Independent, Mr Hogan said: "Putting Mr McGuinness in charge of this State would leave us looking like a Banana Republic . . . [which] could denude Ireland of serious levels of corporate investment within 24 months."

On the same programme, Mr Mitchell criticised his rival's complaint about questions over his past.

"Martin doesn't want people to go over his past, but Martin keeps going over his past himself and drawing up favourable things about himself. Martin doesn't walk to talk about Frank Hegarty, Martin doesn't want to talk about Jean McConville.

"These guys stopped when they got the SDLP and the Unionists out, and they and the DUP were given the keys. They are in office in Northern Ireland in perpetuity," Mr Mitchell said.

On Friday night, the first television debate of the presidential campaign took place with issues such as the presidential salary, campaign funding and the candidates’ standing in the polls taking centre stage.

The large number of candidates in the Late Late Show studio militated against a clear result, although the two female contenders, Mary Davis and Dana Rosemary Scallon, featured prominently. Frontrunner Michael D Higgins gave no hostages to fortune with a solid performance.

Mr Norris again refused to release further letters he wrote seeking clemency for his former partner Ezra Nawi.