Michael Healy Rae nominates Maria Steen for Áras run (but still wants Heather Humphreys to win)

LAST UPDATE | 15 hrs ago

JUNIOR MINISTER MICHAEL HEALY RAE has announced that he will be nominating conservative candidate Maria Steen for president. 

He has stressed, however, that despite signing her papers, his support still firmly lies with Fine Gael’s candidate Heather Humphreys. 

In a statement today, the junior minister in the Department of Agriculture said he has decided to sign Steen’s nomination papers in a spirit of “fairness and respect”. 

“However, I want to be absolutely clear: my support in this election is firmly with Heather Humphreys. I believe she is the right person to be the next President of Ireland and I am 100% backing her campaign,” Healy Rae said.

He continued: “Signing a nomination paper is not a signal of electoral support, it is simply ensuring that the people of Ireland are given a fair and full choice when they go to the polls. That is the foundation of democracy, and it is something I will always stand by.”

The Independent Kerry TD added that in 2011, he signed the nomination papers of Sinn Féin’s candidate Martin McGuinness while also making it clear publicly that he would not be voting for McGuinness.

To get on the ballot, Steen needs to be nominated by 20 TDs or Senators.

Announcing her candidacy last week, she told reporters at the time that she already had the backing of 10. 

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At the time, the eight Oireachtas members who had publicly declared their support for Steen were Peadar Tóibín, Mattie McGrath, Joe Conway, Paul Lawless, Ronan Mullins, Carol Nolan, Sharon Keogan and Sarah O’Reilly. 

Tóibín said the other two Oireachtas members who have committed to supporting Steen have to speak to their respective teams first. 

Yesterday, Tóibín said Steen has secured the backing of an unnamed 11th Oireachtas member. It is unclear if Healy Rae is one of those three. 

Independent Ireland

Independent Ireland’s four TDs have said they will only consider nominating a candidate who has already secured nominations from 16 other TDs or Senators.

In a statement issued today, party leader Michael Collins confirmed that following a request received by the party on Thursday afternoon from Steen, the party has agreed to meet with her on Monday to discuss her nomination for the presidency.

“We want to meet Marie Steen to see are the names she has already legitimate,” Collins told RTÉ’s Drivetime this evening.

He said he has contacted several people over the last number of days who have said they are “seriously considering” backing Steen. “That would bring her very close to 16, if not by Monday. At the point of 16, she’ll desperately need four more votes. We have that four votes.”

Collins said the party wants to ask Steen what she stands for as they “don’t know everything about her” and if they are satisfied with the answers she gives, they will make a decision “pretty well quickly after that”.

Asked if he believes there is now momentum behind Steen’s campaign, he said: “Since I went back to the Dáil last Monday, talking to different people, I felt there was movement towards having an alternative candidate to what’s there already from independent minded TDs and centrists in the Dáil.

So I do feel there’s a shift, and I personally do think she will get across the line.

Independent TD Paul Gogarty has said he would be open to nominating Steen if she comes close to the 20, but again, it is unclear if he is one of the three unnamed TDs mentioned by Tóibín.

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When contacted by The Journal today, Michael Healy Rae’s brother, Danny Healy Rae, said he has not yet decided who he will be nominating.

He said he is not backing Heather Humphreys, but when asked if he too will nominate Steen, he said merely that he is “hopeful she will get close”.

It remains unclear who other members of the Regional Independents will be nominating.

Steen, a barrister and architect, is best known for her advocacy as a member of the socially conservative Catholic organisation, the Iona Institute. 

She rose to prominence during the same-sex marriage referendum in 2015, in which she campaigned against same-sex marriage, and later in the 2018 abortion referendum, in which she campaigned against liberalising abortion laws. 

Despite today’s backing from Healy Rae, her prospects of reaching the required 20 Oireachtas nominees remain slim. 

She is also currently engaged in efforts to receive the backing of four local authorities, and will this afternoon appear in person before Wexford County Council to make her pitch.

However, as of yet, she has not secured the support of any of the councils.

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