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THE TWO REMAINING candidates faced off again this morning, as they went head-to-head in a roughly 35-minute-long debate on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Presenter Gavin Jennings prefaced the debate between Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys with a reminder – “this is a debate, not two separate interviews.”
Despite the warning from Jennings, and a handful of snipes between the Áras hopefuls, there was (once again) very little confrontation between Connolly and Humphreys.
Both candidates were quizzed on a number of topics ranging from housing to migration to a possible Trump visit (and their favourite poet).
Connolly was pressed on her Syria visit, her position as an opposition TD and how she relates to people “on the ground”.
Humphreys was asked about the death of Shane O’Farrell, her tenure as a government minister and giving “substance to the guaranteed dimension of Britishness” in Northern Ireland.
Here’s the main points.
Connolly rejected suggestions that her prospective salary as President (they’re entitled to somewhere in the region of €350,000) would distance her from the public, saying she has “no difficulty” relating to people struggling with the cost of living.
“There’s a huge cost of living crisis, there’s a major housing crisis. I have never shown any reluctance to speak out on those issues,” she said.
“I was in a family resource centre yesterday. The manager told me people are coming in having given up food for three to four days to save food for their children. That’s the level of deprivation in our country at the moment.”
The same question was put to Fine Gael presidential candidate Heather Humphreys, who said that as a credit union manager during the financial crisis, she saw first-hand how people struggled to make ends meet.
Humphreys said that the reason she got into politics more than a decade ago was to try to help improve things for people.
“I’m not the same on the level of salary, but I’m very comfortable and very happy to be out in the community,” Humphreys said.
One of the only points of contention between the candidates came when Humphreys spoke on representing British people in Northern Ireland as president.
The topic of Brexit was brought up, as Humphreys stated that it “knocked us back on our tracks” in relation to cross-border tensions.
“Some people here supported Brexit,” Humphreys said, alluding to Connolly.
Connolly respond directly to the indirect criticism, saying: “I’m not sure what people here agreed with Brexit. Maybe you did, Gavin.”
Humphreys then claimed that Connolly had “used the words of Nigel Farage” and said that her opponent had previously claimed that “we were trying to instill fear into the British people by saying that there should be no Brexit”.
”I’m being accused of not agreeing with Brexit, or agreeing with Brexit, which is totally inaccurate,” Connolly snapped back.
“She said that my director of elections was Paul Murphy,” she added, to which Humphreys replied: “You can call him whatever you want Catherine, he’s associated.”
Humphreys had incorrectly stated that Paul Murphy was Connolly’s campaign manager on two occasions during an interview on RTÉ Radio yesterday.
“Allegations are being made without any foundation,” Connolly said.
“I have a very, very competent female director of elections, and this is on the record. Heather knows this, and yet she throws throws it out as she’s thrown out other things. This is not acceptable.”
Both candidates were pressed on migration and rising far-right sentiment.
Humphreys said she would use her presidency to “have hard conversations” about asylum-seeker accommodation and to help “break down prejudices and barriers” in communities.
“I want people to sit down and have conversations. We saw how a peace process evolved in Northern Ireland — through discussion and hard conversations,” she said.
“Those seeking asylum need to be processed quickly, and if they’re not entitled to be here, they need to be returned.”
Connolly, meanwhile, called far-right slogans such as ‘Ireland is full’ “disturbing and unacceptable.”
That doesn’t mean I won’t listen to people who feel disconnected.
“But it’s not based on any evidence or facts,” she added.
“There’s a conflating of language here and a mixing up of people seeking asylum status, and people coming into the country looking for work.”
Separate controversies related to both candidates were touched on.
Humphreys revisited the case of Shane O’Farrell, a 23-year-old Monaghan man killed in a hit-and-run in 2011.
Quizzed on her decision not to support a Dáil motion seeking a public inquiry into his death, Humphreys said was sorry if the family felt she had not done enough to support them.
“I made representations on Lucia O’Farrell’s behalf,” she said.
“I’m sorry if she thinks I didn’t do enough — I really am — but I did my best.”
Connolly was also questioned about her 2018 visit to the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, where she was photographed with a pro-Assad militia leader linked to war crimes.
She said she “didn’t know” who the man was at the time and described the trip as a “fact-finding mission”.
“You have no control when you go to a country like that as to who will come into your presence,” she said.
“I went foolishly, thinking it would be a tented encampment. It was a city utterly destroyed. We listened to refugees talk to us about the Nakba and their background.”
“When Israel sends an ambassador back to Ireland, how are you going to receive them?”
This question was put to both candidates – Humphreys said she would meet any head of state or ambassador if elected, including those from Israel, adding that “the fragile situation in Gaza must be protected”.
Connolly said she was “appalled” by the Israeli ambassador to Ireland “backing up what was happening in Israel”, but added that as President she would meet everyone “with dignity and respect”.
Both were also asked about a possible Trump visit to Ireland.
Jennings put it sharply to both candidates – “how would you feel meeting a man who’s been found liable for sexual assault in a civil court and has expressed misogynistic views on several occasions?”
Humphreys said she respects “his mandate”, adding that: “like any other democratically elected leader, I will meet him.”
Independent TD Catherine Connolly said it was “interesting” that Ireland now found itself “reliant on President Trump for a peace initiative,” given his previous support for Israel during what she described as a genocide in Gaza.
“He absolutely funded and resourced Israel to carry out a genocide, and now we’re utterly dependent on this man to bring peace — such is the volatility of the world,” she said.
Connolly added that, as President, she would of course welcome Trump in her official capacity, but stressed the need for Ireland to use its neutral voice to advocate for peace.
The election will take place on Friday 24 October.
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