LABOUR PARTY presidential hopeful Michael D Higgins yesterday insisted he was a “better” and “more substantial” candidate than Independent Seán Gallagher.
Speaking during a canvass in Dublin city centre with Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, Mr Higgins described himself as “somebody who has never had a share; somebody who has never had a company”.
He said he had a house in Galway and an apartment in Dublin, “publicly declared in the name of my wife and myself”, adding that he had never been involved in business transactions. “I am 100 miles from the Celtic Tiger,” he said.
“It’s all in the public realm, every single aspect of what I do, what I own, what I am, what I do, my history . . . Why did I offer myself? Because I love Ireland,” he said.
Mr Higgins said voters would reflect on what himself and Mr Gallagher, as the frontrunners in recent opinion polls, had been doing for the last 15 years.
“I am saying that I am more substantial and I am clearly the better candidate,” he said.
“We stand for a different version of Ireland,” he added.
Mr Higgins said he had made the case against the “excesses of the speculative Tiger” in the Dáil and voted against the blanket bank guarantee.
“When I had the opportunity of being minister I founded a television station; I re-funded the film industry; I built these canals; the Chester Beatty Library; Collins Barracks; the Folk Museum in Mayo; 17 theatres.
“That’s real. You don’t have to go searching in the Companies Office to find that.”
He said everything that was said about unemployment or emigration during what remained of the campaign “must be real; must be true; must be substantial”.
He also stressed his own proficiency in the Irish language. Asked about references to his age, Mr Higgins said it would be “a wonderful thing to say ageism was profoundly rejected” at the conclusion of the campaign.
A spokesman for Mr Gallagher said the Independent candidate had always made clear that he was not going to make negative comments about other candidates.
“His campaign has always had a positive approach. That’s at the core of what he’s about,” the spokesman said. “If candidates want to make comments about him, that’s something that the public will have to make a judgement on.
“The public is made up of intelligent and fair-minded people who will decide for themselves who they want to put in place.”
Mr Gallagher’s spokesman said the candidate believed there had been “far too much negativity” in the media. “At this time we need to focus on the future,” he added.
Mr Gallagher would “stand by” members of the small business community, many of whom were struggling.
Mr Gallagher was also the subject of comments yesterday by Niamh Brennan, professor of management at UCD, who said she had a “bad vibe” about the candidate.
Prof Brennan referred to the €82,829 loan that breached company law, paid to Mr Gallagher by one of his companies in 2009. Mr Gallagher has said the matter was brought to his attention by his accountants in 2010 and the money has been repaid.
“There were things like the loan: bad vibe. Patent income being paid by the company to him: very bad vibe. And on top of that rental income from the company being paid to him and his other director: very, very bad vibe,” Prof Brennan said, on the Marian Finucane Show on RTÉ Radio One.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar yesterday said he would be giving his number two vote to Mr Higgins, and said he would like to see Fine Gael voters doing likewise.
Mr Higgins said he would “welcome number twos from every candidate”.
