Independent councillors in Kerry have urged colleagues from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil not to follow directions that may come from party headquarters to oppose the nominations of any independent candidate.
Kerry County Council has become the first of the 31 local authorities to allow aspiring presidential candidates make pitches outlining their credentials.
A person who is formally nominated by four councils or by at least 20 Oireachtas members is entitled to be a candidate in the election.
Fourteen prospective candidates were allowed to make five-minute oral submissions, followed by 10 minutes of questions.
READ MORE
During this time they were examined about the extent of their political experience, their proficiency in the Irish language and their knowledge of the Constitution.
Independent Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan said he would nominate entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan and urged party councillors to support the independent process.
The six Fine Gael councillors on the committee will vote against any nomination proposed. This is in line with party instructions to block the nomination of Independent candidates at special local authority meetings.
Fianna Fáil has not yet issued any instructions to its own councillors.
Only one of the presidential hopefuls – Independent Cork City Councillor Kieran McCarthy – is an elected politician. Three others have a national profile: businessman Nick Delahanty; Mr Sheridan; and conservative commentator Maria Steen.
A number of councillors criticised the candidates’ political inexperience. Cllr Jackie Healy-Rae, Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae and Cllr Terry O’Brien asked some prospective candidates why they had not stood in local, Dáil or European elections and why they had not contacted councillors before appearing at the chamber.
Ms Steen, a mother of five children, told the council her decision to seek the presidency was made later than others and was not an easy one because of family considerations.
She said she felt compelled to seek a nomination to “speak out against the NGO-and media-driven consensus that decides so much of our politics and was rejected in the 2024 referendums that resulted in a No vote”.
She said the senior political leadership and the media were detached from the Constitutional values of which the family was the most important.
She said the president had an important reserved power to refer the Constitutionality of new laws to the Supreme Court. She said this would be important if legislation on hate speech was to be approved by the Oireachtas.
Mr Sheridan (36) told councillors he would represent a younger generation, many who were forced to live abroad because they were not able to afford to buy a home in Ireland.
“There is a large group of people who don’t have access to input in the direction of the country. I feel like I have something to offer.”
He said a roof over people’s heads would be a theme of his presidency. “I have no ambition to become an antagonist to the Government, rather a protagonist for the people,” he said.
Mr Delahanty (35) said the president had very little executive powers and he would use the office to access influence and resources. He said in one way he would be the “biggest influence in the country”, and one of the “biggest microphones” who would champion certain issues.
The council has deferred the vote on nominations until a meeting next week.
Meanwhile, South Dublin County Council will host a special meeting next Friday, September 19th, to hear from prospective presidential candidates.
A separate meeting of the council will be held directly afterwards to determine whether or not to nominate any candidates.
The update was provided by Colm Ward, chief executive of the council, at its monthly meeting at County Hall in Tallaght on Monday afternoon. Candidates will “come in and put forward their case to yourselves,” councillors were told.
In the last presidential election in 2018, Independents Peter Casey, Sean Gallagher, Joan Freeman and Gavin Duffy were nominated to run through county councils.
