Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly said she is “disappointed” that TG4 has decided not to hold a presidential debate in Irish.
The last presidential debate in Irish took place in 2011. Many of the exchanges were in English as Michael D Higgins was the only candidate fluent in Irish. Seven candidates took part in the bilingual debate.
Speaking during a canvass in Cork on Sunday, Ms Connolly, who is fluent in Irish and the chair of the Oireachtas committee for the Irish language, said members of the public have raised with her the fact she is the only one of the three declared presidential candidates to speak Irish.
“I think people, including myself, have been a little bit disappointed that the Irish language has not featured in the debate. I think TG4, subject to correction, have said that they won’t be able to do a debate in Irish which to me is a wrong decision,” she said.
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If there is no debate, this would “certainly (be) a cause for reflection when we are talking about the role of president of a bilingual country where Irish is the first official language and protected under the Constitution”, she said.
Fine Gael presidential candidate Heather Humphreys has committed to taking classes in Irish if she is elected. Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin recently told the media that he has “a few words” in Irish and visited the Gaeltacht as young man.
Meanwhile, Ms Connolly said that she hadn’t paid much attention to a Business Post Red C opinion poll which placed her third in the field at 17 per cent, behind Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys who polled at 18 and 22 per cent respectively.
“Polls will take place. I never put much emphasis on polls. But I would be wrong to say as a human being and a candidate that some polls raise my spirits and others don’t,” the Independent TD for Galway West said.
Also speaking from Cork on Sunday, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he and his party colleagues in Fianna Fáil voted for Jim Gavin because “we thought he was an excellent candidate ... and had an excellent chance of winning”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin gave strong backing to Mr Gavin in advance of a party vote that saw Mr Gavin emerge with 41 votes, against Cork MEP Billy Kelleher’s 29 votes in a closer-than-expected result.
Asked if Mr Martin’s party leadership would be under threat if Mr Gavin fails to win the presidency, Mr O’Callaghan said he does not believe it would.
“There was nothing in my assessment of it related to the leadership of the party ... It was all about who the individuals in the parliamentary party thought would be best placed to win the presidential election.”
Responding to questions about Mr Martin’s stated intention to lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election, Mr O’Callaghan said: “I would welcome that – Micheál Martin’s longevity is something to be admired ... I want to see him stay in that position as long as possible.”
