Turnout in presidential election could be below 50%, Labour leader warns

Labour leader Brendan Howlin has said it was "a danger" that turnout in the presidential election could be lower than 50 per cent.

Appealing for voters to turn out to support the Labour-backed candidate Michael D Higgins, Mr Howlin said while canvass returns from his own constituency in Wexford had shown as high as 80 per cent support for Mr Higgins, there was also complacency among voters.

"There is a presumption maybe that you don't have to physically go out and mark a ballot paper," he said at an event in Dublin with Labour TD Jan O'Sullivan and Senator Ivana Bacik.

Ms Bacik was also appealing for a Yes vote in the blasphemy referendum on Friday, amid widespread political awareness that the issue has not engaged the public.

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She said the existence of the blasphemy reference was “not tenable in a modern democratic state”.

“Its retention sends out an unfortunate and outdated signal about the kind of society we are.”

Mr Howlin criticised Sinn Féin candidate Liadh Ní Riada’s answers on how much of her salary she takes on RTÉ’s presidential debate, saying she was “squirming” on the issue.

Ms Ní Riada had previously said that she took only the average industrial wage, but under questioning from RTÉ’s David McCullagh she admitted that this was her take-home pay, which Mr McCullagh said was equivalent to a salary of €70,000, far above the average industrial wage.

Government jet

“Sinn Féin have impaled themselves on this issue for a while,” Mr Howlin said.

Asked about criticisms of Mr Higgins on his use of the government jet for a trip to Belfast, Mr Howlin said it was "amazing" that the issue was persisting.

“If the only issue after seven years is that he should have driven to Belfast rather than take the jet to Belfast, you know...You either have a government jet whose function is to transfer the President and senior Ministers or you don’t. It’s a little bit of a non-issue in my judgment.”

He said he had used the government jet while a minister, but had never used it to travel within Ireland.

Mr Higgins has been criticised for using the jet to travel to Belfast when the presidential car also travelled to collect him from the airport. He has cited “security” and “logistical” concerns, but has declined to elaborate.