Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea has said he would be willing to give Maria Steen “a chance” at the Presidency if he was backed by “a few” other TDs from his party, but that he wouldn’t want to do so “solo”.
To date, 18 TDs & Senators have committed to sign Maria Steen’s nomination, out of a required 20. The deadline for nominations to be submitted is 12 noon on Wednesday this week, leaving just a few hours remaining to bridge the gap if Steen is to get onto the ballot paper.
Gript asked O’Dea if he had been approached by Steen’s campaign seeking a nomination, and if he had, if he had considered backing her.
O’Dea replied that Steen had approached him, but that matters were complicated by the fact that Fianna Fáil have their own candidate in the race – namely, Dublin football manager Jim Gavin.
“We’ve our own candidate, that’s the problem,” he said.
“Now, I’d give her a chance if there were a couple more with me. But I mean, I don’t want to be going solo.”
He said that currently he doesn’t see anyone in Fianna Fáil “breaking ranks” to back Steen. He added that he thought she could still secure the nomination from Independents, but that this wasn’t guaranteed.
“She’ll still get enough I think,” he said.
“Among all the Independents, I think she will just about make it in the end. But I wouldn’t be sure of that.”
Earlier today, Independent Ireland’s 4 TDs confirmed their support for Maria Steen’s presidential bid, while Independent Minister Danny Healy-Rae has also supported her, along with Independent Minister Marion Harkin.
So far, Steen has secured the backing of a significant number of Oireachtas members, but not enough to secure her place on the ballot paper.
Among her backers are Peadar Tóibín TD, Paul Lawless TD, and Senator Sarah O’Reilly of Aontú, along with Independents Mattie McGrath TD, Carol Nolan TD, Senator Joe Conway, Senator Rónán Mullen, Senator Sharon Keogan, and others.
Junior Minister Michael Healy-Rae has formally nominated her in the interest of “democracy” but said he will cast his vote for Heather Humphreys.
The campaign now rests on gaining the final two nominations needed within the coming hours.
Independent TD Paul Gogarty has said he may nominate Steen if she approaches the threshold of 20. Senators Michael McDowell and Victor Boyhan have also not declared their intentions.
Senator Gerard Craughwell has ruled out supporting Steen, citing her stance on abortion.
If Steen reaches the nomination threshold, she will join Connolly, Humphreys, and Gavin on the presidential ballot.