Maria Steen ‘needs just three more nominations’ to enter presidential race
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
Maria Steen has edged into touching distance of formally entering the presidential race after receiving nominations from the Independent Ireland party and other TDs.
To be eligible to run, a candidate must be nominated either by 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.
The local authority route is no longer viable after most councils decided not to nominate any candidate, with the majority of councillors from the largest parties choosing to oppose independent hopefuls.
The nomination window closes at midday on Wednesday, and the election will be held on October 24th.
Ms Steen now claims the support of 17 TDs or senators after earlier expressions of support from Aontú and a range of independents, including two that entered the coalition as junior ministers.
Supporters say an 18th nomination is nearly finalised but not yet signed.
Ms Steen said she is making herself available to TDs and Senators throughout the day before the nomination window closes.
Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House on Tuesday, she said she was “very hopeful” that she would receive 20 nominations and expressed “gratitude” to those who had already supported her.
“I have 17 and I have three more to find today so I am hopeful there is enough momentum behind me today that it will maybe encourage others to maybe come out and support me today.”
She said, “Anybody willing to talk to me, I’m willing to talk to them.”
Ms Steen, who was a prominent voice among those campaigning for “no” votes in referendums on abortion and same-sex marriage, said there was a “hunger out there for an alternative candidate from outside the political establishment”.
She also campaigned on the “no” side in last year’s referendums on family and care, which were defeated.
Ms Steen told RTÉ that she had not yet spoken to Senator Michael McDowell, a former justice minister and ex-attorney general who she campaigned alongside to call for a No vote in the family and care referenda held last year.
“I’m hopeful that he will come on board,” she said.
“We don’t agree on everything, but we actually have many things that we do agree on, so I think I’d be very grateful for his support, and we’ll see if he’ll meet me this evening.
“And there are still some others as well that I want to meet this evening.”
Minister of State Marian Harkin, who joined the coalition as part of an independent bloc, said on Tuesday that she would be nominating Ms Steen to appear on the ballot paper.
However, she stressed that she would be supporting Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys in the actual election.
Ms Harkin said Ms Steen is a “credible candidate and reflects all or some of the views of a significant portion of the Irish people”.
She added: “I have faith in the Irish electorate to select the most suitable candidate as our next president – my only role for now is to help give them the opportunity to make their choice from a more diverse group of candidates.”
Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae, also in that independent bloc, announced the same position last week.
Also on Tuesday, his brother Danny Healy-Rae rowed in behind Ms Steen’s campaign.
Elsewhere, independent candidate Catherine Connolly lodged her nomination papers at the Customs House in Dublin on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Connolly’s campaign is backed by left-wing parties Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, and the Greens, as well as a host of independents.
Ms Humphreys and Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin lodged their papers on Friday.
Asked about Ms Steen’s chances of getting on the presidential ballot, Ms Connolly said: “I wish Maria Steen the best of luck. I wish all candidates the best of luck.
“I’ve said that we should be strong enough in our democracy to look at the nomination process.
“Now is not the time, because we’re confined with the process we have, but we should be big enough and strong enough in our democracy to see whether it’s the right thing to do to extend the nomination process.”