LAST UPDATE | 17 Sep

FINE GAEL’S DIRECTOR of Elections Martin Heydon has said any sanctions against a party councillor who backed the nomination of Independent presidential election hopeful Gareth Sheridan is a “matter for the Executive Council”.

Fine Gael has instructed its councillors across the country to oppose the nomination of independent candidates.

Its position is that as the party has its own candidate, former Minister Heather Humphreys, Fine Gael should collectively rally behind her.

While a presidential candidate can get on the ballot by securing the backing of at least 20 Oireachtas members, another route is a nomination by four councils.

Independent candidates have been appearing before councils in recent days and Sheridan has secured nominations from Tipperary County Council and Kerry County Council.

In Tipperary, Fine Gael councillor Mary Hanna Hourigan ignored a party diktat to not lend support to independent candidates.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said she would not be “whipped to say or do something I don’t believe in”.

She said the diktat from her party is “undemocratic” and that she should be free to “vote the way I want”.

“I have no regrets about what I did. I didn’t do it lightly and I would do the same again tomorrow,” Hanna Hourigan said about her decision to back Sheridan.

Her vote turned out to be decisive and Hanna Hourigan told RTÉ: “It was only by one vote you know, which was my vote.”

She added that “we need competition and more than three horses in a race”. Jim Gavin, Catherine Connolly, and Heather Humphreys are the three confirmed candidates so far.

‘Full confidence’ in Humphreys

At the Tipperary County Council meeting, Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Smith proposed that the Council not nominate a candidate.

This proposal was defeated by 20 votes to 19, and Sheridan went on to secure the Council’s nomination.

Hanna Hourigan said she has “full confidence” in Heather Humphreys and will be “doing everything I can to see her get elected”.

She added that Sheridan will get her second preference vote.

Fine Gael’s Director of Elections, and Agriculture Minister, Martin Heydon said he “makes no apology” for the directive to councillors.

When asked by RTÉ about Hanna Hourigan giving “credible candidates a chance”, Heydon replied: “That’s her view, and that’s fine for her view.”

“We engaged with the 31 Fine Gael councillor groups over the summer around the approach to this. We all agreed that we wanted to give our candidate the very best chance and our full support.”

Heydon said the party’s executive council will decide if there will be any sanctions on Hanna Hourigan for going against the party directive.

Fine Gael's Director of Elections and Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“That’s a matter for the Executive Council of the party and it’s not something for me, but we are fully focused on supporting Heather in her campaign,” Heydon told RTE.

“She would make a brilliant tenth Uachtarán na hÉireann and we’re going to do everything in our power to help her in that endeavour.”

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Maria Steen

Elsewhere in the presidential race, Independent Ireland said that it had yet to be formally asked to nominate Maria Steen.

The barrister claims to have the backing of 10 members of the Oireachtas, halfway to the threshold of 20 TDs or senators required to formally contest the election.

However, only nine of those politicians have so far been publicly named.

Independent Ireland has said it may be willing to help Steen’s campaign over the line if she had already secured 16 other nominations and had “some synergy” with the party.

However, party leader Michael Collins and chairman Ken O’Flynn said they had not had a formal request for backing.

Collins reiterated that she still needed further support before coming to the party and said:

Knock on our door and we’ll give it serious consideration, but not until then.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who is among those facilitating Steen’s campaign, said that if politicians “believe in something” they should not have to wait to be asked.

He said there was a lot of “anger” over the nomination process and argued that larger parties were limiting the “breadth of debate” by not enabling independent candidates to proceed.

Tóibín said he would tell his party councillors to back Gareth Sheridan if it seemed likely that Steen could not get the necessary numbers, or if she would not need the council route.