Bruton to decide on president bid soon

FORMER TAOISEACH John Bruton will soon decide whether to contest the presidency for Fine Gael, according to Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.

Mr Hogan said Mr Bruton had previously made clear he did not have “huge enthusiasm” for the position, but had been prevailed upon to consider contesting and was doing so at present.

“In fairness to John Bruton, he has always said that he hasn’t huge enthusiasm to be president of Ireland. But obviously he’s been asked by a lot of people in Fine Gael and outside Fine Gael to consider it, and he’s doing that,” Mr Hogan said. “I expect that he’ll come to some conclusions in the near future about whether he’s going to stand or not.”

Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness has announced she will seek the party’s nomination for the presidency later this year. Another Fine Gael MEP, Seán Kelly, former GAA president and a cousin of Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s wife Fionnuala, is also interested. Mr Kelly sat close behind US president Barack Obama during Monday’s speech in College Green, Dublin.

Fine Gael will decide on its candidate for the presidency before the end of June, Mr Hogan confirmed. Asked for his preference as candidate, Mr Hogan simply said he would be backing the nominee of the Fine Gael party. Mr Hogan was speaking ahead of the launch of Engineers Ireland’s report reviewing Irish infrastructure, The State of Ireland.

Last month, Mr Bruton said the presidency was “an office that no citizen ought to refuse to consider” but insisted he had “no ambitions in that direction”. He would not be drawn on the issue in a recent radio interview.

Mr Bruton is chairman of Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Ireland, a private sector body that seeks to promote Ireland’s international financial services sector. He is a former EU ambassador to Washington.