'It certainly won't be me': Cork politician rules out run for Áras

EU commissioner Michael McGrath has ruled himself out of the running for the Áras.

Speaking to media after he officially opened a new Tesco store in Fermoy, Mr McGrath was asked if he would be interested in the Fianna Fáil nomination for the upcoming presidential election.

“I can give a pretty straightforward answer to that, and the answer is no,” he said.

“I have no doubt there will be no shortage of high-calibre candidates who will want to make the case for their candidacy, and I wish them all well, but it certainly won’t be me.”

Mr McGrath, who was first elected for Fianna Fáil in Cork South Central in 2007 and served as minister for finance and as minister for public expenditure, was appointed European commissioner for democracy, justice, and rule of law last December.

President Higgins is due to complete his second term in November, and the election of his successor is expected in October or early November.

So far, the presidential campaign could not be said to have caught fire in the public imagination, with only two candidates currently almost certain to run.

Former EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness is the only nominee to be Fine Gael’s candidate, and looks certain to be ratified by the party in September, while Independent TD Catherine Connolly looks well on her way to receiving the requisite 20 nominations from Oireachtas members.

Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor has stated repeatedly that he intends to run, but his pathway to nomination by 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities does not seem clear.

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin definitively ruled himself out of the running for the Fianna Fáil nomination. Now, his former constituency colleague, Mr McGrath, has followed suit.

“I’m delighted with the role I have as a European commissioner,” Mr McGrath told The Echo. “I’m only seven months or so into a five-year term, and am really looking forward to the huge challenge ahead.

“It’s a very exciting time to be at the heart of the European Commission. We’re dealing with enormous European and global challenges, that’s where my immediate future lies.”

Mr McGrath was asked about the possibility of EU funding toward the proposed Cork Luas project, which currently has no agreed budget or timeline. He replied that the next EU budget would contain regional and national partnership plans, and a key feature would be flexibility for member states to allocate priority funding to key projects.

“There will be EU funding opportunities for projects in Ireland, including public transport projects here in Cork, in the future,” Mr McGrath said.

“It will require a level of prioritisation by the member states.

Asked his perspective on current tariff negotiations between the EU and the US, Mr McGrath said he remained hopeful that a deal could be reached.

“Insofar as possible, the European Union wants to see a deal whereby we have zero for zero — in other words, the US not charging tariffs and the EU not charging tariffs on as wide a range of goods as possible — because free trade has worked well and has served both the US and the EU very well,” he said.