Taoiseach says he will not urge FF supporters to vote for Heather Humphreys

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he will not be asking Fianna Fáil supporters to lend their votes to Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys in the upcoming presidential election.

With Fianna Fail’s former candidate Jim Gavin now out of the race, Mr Martin said people will decide for themselves how they vote, and he did not believe in “dictating to people”.

Mr Martin was speaking to The Echo ahead of tonight’s meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, in which his leadership is expected to come in for serious criticism, with some members claiming there would be “blood in the air”.

The party has been in turmoil since late Sunday night when its presidential candidate Jim Gavin withdrew from the race following reports that he owed a former tenant €3,300 for a rental arrangement that was not properly registered.

With the October 24 presidential election now a two-horse race, voters have a clear choice between left-wing Independent candidate Catherine Connolly and former Fine Gael minister Heather Humphreys.

Given that some of Ms Connolly’s politics could not be said to align with Fianna Fáil’s, The Echo asked Mr Martin if he would urge Fianna Fáil supporters to lend Ms Humphreys their vote.

“Look, people will make their own individual decisions, we’ll cross that bridge later on,” he said.

“That’s a matter for people, but I’ll deal with that later. I don’t believe in dictating to people, or telling them how to vote, that never works.” 

Mr Gavin was selected on September 9 as Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate after being strongly backed by Mr Martin and deputy leader Jack Chambers.

Members of the 71-strong Fianna Fáil parliamentary party voted for Mr Gavin over Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher by a margin of 41 to 29.

In the wake of Mr Gavin’s withdrawal, Mr Martin’s leadership has come under sustained criticism, with Mr Kelleher and those politically close to him – including Cork TDs Pádraig O’Sullivan, James O’Connor, and Seamus McGrath – saying there must be accountability for the debacle.

Mr O’Connor said yesterday that parliamentary party members had come under “extensive pressure” from Mr Martin and Mr Chambers to vote for Mr Gavin, with the leader and deputy leader “repeatedly” phoning them in the days leading up to the vote.

On Monday, Galway Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Regan denounced Mr Martin as “a dictator”.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Martin said he was “very, very disappointed” with the events surrounding Mr Gavin’s withdrawal from the presidential election campaign but “we acted in good faith in terms of trying to do the best for the party.

“Jim Gavin had very strong credentials in terms of sporting and military achievements as a peacekeeper, and his role in [Dublin’s] north-east inner city,” Mr Martin said.

“I understand how hurt party members are, but I look forward to engaging with parliamentary party members tonight.” He said he believed the process which led to the selection of Mr Gavin “should be reviewed” but he rejected some commentary around it as “simply inaccurate”.

Mr Martin was asked about a suggestion by the Irish Independent that Fianna Fáil had known the day before Mr Gavin’s selection that there was an issue around his dealings with a tenant.

“That first contact that the Independent is referring to, there was no definitive [information]. They were asking did we hear, a ‘had ye heard anything about’ kind of a question, to which the answer was ‘no, we hadn’t’.

“And then when Jim Gavin was approached, he said there was absolutely no issue, there was never an issue between him and a tenant,” Mr Martin said.

“The difficulty is people on one hand say ‘Ye didn’t do due diligence’. We did. And then when you say you did it, you’re accused of throwing someone [under the bus], which we have no intention of doing.” 

The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting is scheduled to begin at 7pm in this evening in Leinster House.