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THE TWO REMAINING candidates in this year’s presidential election outlined the themes of their campaigns as they went head-to-head in Newstalk’s hour-long debate this morning.
While both candidates were arguably less confrontational than we have seen them in previous debates, there were a few standout moments of contention between the pair.
Pat Kenny quizzed both candidates on topics ranging from the themes of each of their campaigns to their views on Donald Trump.
Connolly also faced questions in relation to her decision to hire a woman convicted of gun crime; her relationship with former TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace (she said she doesn’t agree with them on everything); and whether she did work on behalf of banks in repossession cases while she was a barrister (she did, but stressed the cab-rank rule).
Meanwhile, Humphreys was asked about her involvement in an animal cruelty case; her views on fox hunting; and if she did enough to support some of her constituents, namely the family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell.
Here’s what you need to know.
Over the last few days, Humphreys has been repeatedly asked about the views of one of her former constituents, Lucia O’Farrell, who has stated that Humphreys is not fit to be president.
O’Farrell’s son Shane was killed in a hit-and-run in Monaghan in 2011 by a man who was out on bail at the time. After relentless campaigning by Shane’s family, the government issued a State apology for failings in the criminal justice system in relation to Shane’s death.
Shane’s mother, Lucia, has been vocal in her view that Humphreys did not adequately support the family while she was their TD.
Responding to Lucia’s remarks again today, Humphreys said what she has repeatedly said in interviews: that she did make representations on Lucia’s behalf, that she “did her best”, and that she is “sorry if she thinks I didn’t do enough.”
Kenny picked her up on this and said Lucia O’Farrell was in touch with Newstalk to say “Sorry if” is “not good enough”.
Humphreys stuck to what she has repeatedly said, but added:
“I tried my best.
“I actually counted one day, this is a good while ago, I think I got somewhere in the region of 25,000 representations during my term as a TD, and I did my best for everybody, and I’m sorry if some people think I didn’t do enough.”
One of the standout lines from this debate came during a lengthy discussion on Connolly’s decision to hire a woman convicted of a gun crime to work in Leinster House.
A significant proportion of the debate was dedicated to this issue, with Humphreys strongly challenging Connolly on the matter.
Humphreys repeatedly asked Connolly if she had ever asked the woman what she was going to do with the guns.
Connolly, in response, gave her usual refrain: she believes in rehabilitation, and she believed the woman had served her time and been reformed.
When Kenny suggested to Connolly that perhaps the woman was reformed but still unsuitable for a job in the Oireachtas, Humphreys interjected to agree.
“You wouldn’t invite a bank robber in to run a bank,” she said.
Connolly responded by calling for “a level of rational discussion” and repeated that no rules had been breached when she hired the woman.
While Connolly faced her toughest line of questioning in relation to the gun conviction, Humphreys faced hers in relation to her involvement in an animal welfare case.
While a minister five years ago, Humphreys passed a letter from a constituent at the centre of an animal welfare investigation to the Minister for Agriculture.
The investigation was subsequently dropped.
Asked about it today, Humphreys denied that she intervened in the case and said she abhors animal cruelty.
She said she did not know the constituent personally and simply “glanced” at the letter before passing it to the minister.
“I made no recommendation; there was no cover letter with that letter,” she said.
Meanwhile, Humphreys was also asked whether she supports fox hunting, a question she has managed to largely dodge so far in the campaign.
She said she has never been fox hunting, but she does “support rural pursuits”.
“Once the rules are abided by, I support rural pursuits,” she said.
Another interesting moment came when both candidates were asked for their view of US President Donald Trump.
Humphreys answered first and said she respects his mandate, but “you never know what you are going to hear” from him.
“Having said that I have to recognise that he has done a lot of work in terms of getting a peace deal in Gaza, and that has to be commended,” she said.
When Kenny put it to her that he was the man who “funded Israel to do what it did in Gaza”, Humphreys said:
“Well, all I want to see is that in Gaza, that the mothers are waking up this morning and their children are in their beds. That didn’t happen, and it was terrible what happened. And we all know that. And we know it was genocide.”
Connolly said she is “extremely worried” at the lack of details in the current peace deal.
“We now have somebody bringing peace, somebody that utterly funded and armed the genocide, armed Israel to carry out the genocide,” she said.
“And so there’s a cause for reflection here in the world, that this is where we’re at – somebody who armed and funded genocide is now being proposed for a peace prize,” Connolly added.
The election will take place on Friday, 24 October.
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