INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Catherine Connolly has strongly criticised Fine Gael for the negative video it put out questioning her work as a barrister. 

She also called on her competitor, Heather Humphreys, to withdraw remarks she made yesterday in an interview with the Sunday Independent. 

Alluding to Connolly’s work as a barrister during the economic crash, Humphreys contrasted it with her work as a credit union manager and said: 

“I have always tried to help people. I’ve never tried to capitalise on somebody’s misfortune and to make money out of it. And that’s the difference – and I have a very, very clear record on that.”

This was followed by a video shared online by Fine Gael entitled ‘Catherine Connolly’s hypocrisy’, during which a voiceover highlights the party’s questions over the presidential frontrunner’s previous career.

The video, which lasts for nearly three minutes, includes footage of Connolly’s previous Dáil contributions on housing and the banks along with clips of money and housing estates.

Reacting to it yesterday, Connolly said the campaign had “reached a new low by Fine Gael”.

Expanding on these comments today, Connolly called on Humphreys to withdraw her remarks. 

On Fine Gael’s attack ad, Connolly said: 

“I think they are absolutely terrified. To resort to such tactics just reflects on their terror and their fear of the change in Ireland. They’re utterly out of touch.”

Connolly stressed that housing was one of the “major reasons” she stayed in politics and noted that over 16,000 people are homeless as a result of government policy. 

She added that repossessions were a “direct consequence of government policy” and said she is not free to talk about her work as a barrister due to client confidentiality rules. 

“I’m not going to go into the minutia of anything, but let me say, quite a substantial number of barristers, including myself, have done pro bono work over and over and over. I’ll make that point,” Connolly said.

Earlier today, Humphreys doubled down on her line of attack.

Speaking on this morning’s Joe Finnegan Show on Shannonside Northern Sound, Humphreys was asked if she was “really convinced” that Connolly was ”trying to make money out of people’s misfortune”.

Humphreys denied that she said this and added that she had “outlined” her own position.

“I worked in a Credit Union during the financial crisis,” said Humphreys.

“I chose to work there, I helped people, and it was not easy.”

She said people who lost their jobs “sat in front of my desk and cried”.

She added that these experiences made her “committed” to introduce Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit during her time as Social Protection Minister – it’s a payment based on people’s earnings from work before they became unemployed.

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“I saw those people, I saw their faces, and I saw what it was like for them when they thought they were going to lose their house,” said Humphreys.

When it was put to Humphreys that she had called into question Connolly’s role as a barrister, she replied: “I am not attacking Catherine’s work as a barrister, I’m highlighting her hypocrisy as a politician.”

“She criticised the same banks that she repossessed homes for.

“I’m pointing out the hypocrisy of working for the banks in the courts to repossess houses and saying something different in the council chamber in Galway or in the Dáil chamber.”

Humphreys then said that “barristers can claim conflict of interest to refuse a case, Catherine didn’t do that, that’s her choice.”

“What I want to know is, how many family homes did Catherine repossess? These are fair questions, she just needs to answer the question.”

With reporting from Jane Moore.