INDEPENDENT TDs have begun sounding out potential non-party candidates for the presidential election following the withdrawal of Senator David from the race.
Dublin North Central TD Finian McGrath said he and a handful of Dáil colleagues have identified three people who might be approached to enter the campaign.
Mr McGrath said yesterday that the departure of Senator Norris from the field had left a big gap and he felt strongly that there was room for a non-party and non-political figure whose nomination would be supported by independent TDs and Senators.
“I have been talking to one or two of my colleagues and so far we have identified three individuals. We have not approached them so far and we don’t intend to do so until early September.
“Our strategy is hopefully to get all 20 Independents on one mind to back this candidate, so that it can all happen quickly in early September and allow them time to run a decent campaign.”
Mr McGrath said they were looking at people outside the political system. The other TDs involved in discussions are believed to include Thomas Pringle and John Halligan. All three TDs withdrew support for Senator Norris’s nomination after details of his representations on behalf of former partner Ezra Yitzhak Nwai were made public.
Mr Nwai was convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.
Mr McGrath said it was too early to see how many of the 19 Independent TDs and 11 Independent Senators would be willing to back this candidate.
One Senator, Independent NUI representative Ronan Mullen, said no approach has been made to him by representatives of Rosemary “Dana” Scallon.
However, he indicated that he was going to support a specific candidate but said he was not going to declare the identity of that person until September.
A number of Independent TDs said privately that they would not be inclined to support Ms Scallon’s nomination unless no other candidate emerged. Several expressed doubts as to whether or not she could achieve the 20 nominations required.
There are a number of Fianna Fáil parliamentarians who are seen as conservative in terms of social views. They include Senator Jim Walsh from Wexford, who was one of three Fianna Fáil Senators who spoke against the civil partnership legislation when it was debated last year. He, along with Labrás Ó Murchú and John Hanafin, voted against the legislation. All three temporarily lost the party whip as a consequence.
Mr Walsh said that nobody representing Ms Scallon had approached him but said his position on the presidency depended on the decision Fianna Fáil would take. “My strong inclination would be that we should run our own candidate although I appreciate there are different opinions and views within the party on this. If we are not running a candidate and if anybody approached me I would consider it. But a lot depends on the collective view: are people free to back who they want. It’s not clear-cut,” he said.
Separately, religious periodical the Catholic Voice, yesterday endorsed Ms Scallon as the most credible candidate to be president.
“Dana is emerging as the only choice for president of Ireland, as people seek someone with international credibility . . . beyond reproach. It is time for a clean pair of hands, the people have had enough of the sleaze . . . of the old political elite, we need change and we need a politician we can trust to keep their promises,” said publisher Anthony Murphy.
Mitchell clemency letter appeal for death row anti-abortionist
FINE GAEL'S presidential candidate Gay Mitchell wrote a clemency letter on behalf of an anti-abortionist who murdered two people and may have made other separate representations, his campaign team has said.
Mr Mitchell, then his party's foreign affairs spokesman, wrote to the governor of Florida in 2003 asking him to take Paul Hill off death row.
Hill was convicted of the murder of two people outside an abortion clinic in 1994. Mr Mitchell's letter was written immediately before Hill was due to be killed by lethal injection.
The letter stated that Hill had committed a senseless crime, but that executing him "perpetuated the cycle of taking life". Hill's execution ultimately went ahead.
A spokesman for Mr Mitchell said yesterday that he had written the letter on humanitarian grounds. The spokesman said Mr Mitchell was against abortion but pointed out the letter had referred to the "pointless deaths" of those murdered by Hill.
The campaign was not in a position to confirm what other representations have been made by Mr Mitchell as the Dublin MEP is on holidays and not in regular contact, and also because it would mean a very extensive trawl through archive correspondence.
A spokesman for the Labour Party said Michael D Higgins has never made representations on behalf of a convicted person in Ireland.
HARRY McGEE and PAMELA DUNCAN
