The Labour Party is to be asked to support Senator David Norris's nomination for the Presidency. Senators Shane Ross and Brendan Ryan and Mr Tony Gregory TD have written to the Labour Party leader, Mr Dick Spring, asking him to support the nomination.
Labour support is essential if Senator Norris is to procure the backing of the required 20 Oireachtas members but early indications suggest that the party is not amenable to the idea.
A Labour spokesman last night said that the party leader, Mr Dick Spring, had not received a letter from anyone seeking support for Mr Norris's nomination. Mr Spring had "the highest regard for Senator Norris" but the matter would be just one of the items discussed at the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) meeting next Tuesday.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, is expected to announce at the beginning of next week whether he intends to run for President. Mr Hume is understood to be consulting extensively with colleagues about his intentions and is now thought likely to make a statement on Monday, in advance of planned meetings of the three main parliamentary parties in Leinster House.
Precisely what Mr Hume intends to do remained a matter of conjecture among political parties yesterday.
Mr Spring has already indicated that he will not oppose Mr Hume should he decide to run.
In their letter to Mr Spring, the three Oireachtas members have said that, in 1990, Mr Spring had "the courage" to put forward Ms Mary Robinson as a candidate, "even though she was not a member of the Labour Party".
"Senator Norris belongs to the same tradition as Mary Robinson. An Independent Dublin University senator, he is a tireless campaigner for minority causes, a liberal champion of human rights and a Joycean scholar with an international reputation," the letter said.
Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr Norris said that Labour had accustomed the Irish people to the idea that it was possible to have a person without a party ideology as head of State at Aras an Uachtarain.
He said he would be prepared to contest the election, even if Mr Hume confirmed his intention to run.
The former Environment Minister and chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Brendan Howlin, said that "no doubt all the candidates will be considered by the PLP" but he was not sure if a decision regarding support would be conclusive.
"But John Hume will have to make up his own mind. He is one of the outstanding statesmen of our time," Mr Howlin said.
Meanwhile, the Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party is likely to decide on its presidential candidate on September 17th. The former Taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds is understood to be determined to seek the nomination even if Mr Hume declares an interest.
Mr Reynolds, Mr Michael O'Kennedy TD and the former Justice Minister Ms Maire Geoghegan-Quinn are the only names emerging as potential candidates in Fianna Fail.
Fine Gael is expected to decide next Thursday whether the Dublin MEP Ms Mary Banotti or the former Minister of State Ms Avril Doyle should be the party's choice of candidate.
A Democratic Left spokesman said that while Senator Norris was "a very fine fellow who has made a significant contribution to public life", and while the party would be happy to discuss the Presidency with him, the possibility of securing a nomination would be extremely difficult without the support of one of the main parties.
Democratic Left would not be satisfied to see Mr Hume emerge as an agreed candidate and believes a contest for the post should take place on October 30th.