Gareth Sheridan and Maria Steen among Áras hopefuls due to address first council meeting today

FOURTEEN POTENTIAL CANDIDATES seeking to make it to the ballot for the upcoming presidential election are to make their first presentations to a council this afternoon. 

Kerry County Council is the first council to hear presentations from candidates, with more expected over the coming few weeks. 

The candidates will appear before the council from 1:30pm today and make a five-minute pitch to councillors seeking their support. 

There will be ten minutes for councillors to question candidates, if they so wish.

Councillors will decide at their monthly meeting next week whether the council will be nominating a candidate. 

Candidates pursuing the local authority route to a spot on the ballot must be nominated by four councils. The other two candidates already in the race – Independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys – have secured the backing of twenty Oireachtas members. 

Over the weekend, Fine Gael issued a diktat to its councillors, stating that they must oppose the nomination of any candidate that presents itself to the council.

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The party’s position is that it has its own candidate in the race, and all members of the party must back her.

Fianna Fáil is expected to issue a similar directive to its councillors once its selection process has concluded. Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin is expected to be named as the party’s pick tomorrow. 

Entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan and conservative campaigner Maria Steen are amongst the candidates set to address the Kerry councillors today. 

Also amongst those due to speak are: William P. Allen, Nick Delehanty, Charlotte Keenan, Dr Donncha MacGabhann, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, Lorna McCormack, Keith McGrory, Walter Ryan-Purcell, Dr Cora Stack and Gerben Uunk.

Speaking on RTÉ this morning, Independent Kerry Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae said he had only been contacted by two of the people due to address the council today – and that he was surprised more of the presidential hopefuls hadn’t been in touch with councillors to shore up support ahead of the meeting.

Think-ins

Also on the political agenda today is the beginning of the two-day think-ins of the second and third largest political parties in the Dáil: Sinn Féin and Fine Gael. 

Fine Gael will be heading to Co Westmeath for its think-in, while Sinn Féin is going east to the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire to discuss its plans.

It’s expected that Sinn Féin will discuss and decide its presidential plans over today and tomorrow. A Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll yesterday said Mary Lou McDonald is the most preferred Sinn Féin candidate. However, McDonald definitively ruled herself out of the race early today. 

For Fine Gael, the upcoming budget, housing, infrastructure, in particular health infrastructure, children’s disability services and special education are expected to be on the agenda.

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