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Photograph: Conor O’Mearain\/PA Wire<\/p>\nMain Points <\/b><\/p>\n
Key Reads and Listens<\/b><\/p>\n
Jack White – 36 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Photograph: Conor O’Mearain\/PA Wire<\/p>\n
The decision not to remove Jim Gavin\u2019s name from the ballot paper raises troubling questions about the election count, which should have been addressed given his early withdrawal, Diarmaid Ferriter writes.<\/p>\n
The Electoral Act of 1992 includes a provision for the relevant minister \u2013 in this case James Browne, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage \u2013 to issue an order of modification for the conduct of an election in cases of \u201cemergency or special difficulty\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Gavin case clearly represents a \u201cspecial difficulty\u201d, but there has been no clear explanation from Browne as to why he avoided making use of such an order.<\/p>\n
Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jack White – 55 minutes ago<\/p>\n Who is the pro-Assad militia leader Catherine Connolly was pictured with in Syria?<\/b><\/p>\n Saed Abd Al-Aal\u2019s reputation certainly precedes him in Yarmouk, a southern district of Syria\u2019s capital, Damascus, and largely populated by Palestinian refugees. <\/p>\n Everyone knows his name, but few have a good word to say. <\/p>\n Read more from Cian Ward in Yarmouk here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Irish language would be \u2018central pillar\u2019 of Connolly\u2019s presidency<\/p>\n On that Irish language initiative, Catherine Connolly committed on Friday to making the language a \u201ccentral pillar\u201d of her presidency.<\/p>\n The proposed initiative will run from June 2026 to June 2027 to mark the centenary of the first Gaeltacht Commission.<\/p>\n In a statement on Friday morning, Connolly said she is \u201chonoured\u201d to be visiting the Kerry Gaeltacht today, \u201cone of the living heartlands of our language and culture\u201d<\/p>\n She said her initiative, Teanga na h\u00c9ireann (A Nation\u2019s Living Voice), will celebrate Irish as a \u201cliving, creative and unifying force\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will honour the communities that have sustained it and embrace the energy of new generations who are making it their own.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Irish language is thriving again – not only in schools and Gaeltacht homes, but in music, media and everyday creativity. TG4 has done extraordinary work in bringing Irish-language culture to every household and nurturing a new generation of filmmakers, actors and storytellers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Connolly said artists such as Kneecap who work through Irish show the language has \u201cattitude, humour and global reach\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cFar from being confined to the past, Irish is proving itself one of the most exciting and modern cultural movements of our time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Following this morning\u2019s debate, Catherine Connolly is going to Co Kerry, where she is set to campaign in Tralee, Castlegregory and Dingle.<\/p>\n She will launch her planned presidential Irish language initiative in Dingle later this evening. <\/p>\n Heather Humphreys, meanwhile, will be campaigning in Dublin for the day before appearing on RT\u00c9\u2019s Six One News.<\/p>\n Pat Leahy: \u2018Many people\u2019s concept of hell will be listening to another presidential debate\u2019<\/p>\n There was little new in a sometimes dreary Morning Ireland debate which began with the presidential salary and ended with questions about whether the candidates believed in God and what their favourite book was, our Political Editor Pat Leahy <\/b>writes.<\/p>\n With Catherine Connolly miles ahead in the race, according to yesterday\u2019s Irish Times poll, Heather Humphreys needs something dramatic to change the course of the race if she is to give herself any chance of overhauling her opponent. <\/p>\n There was no sign of it in this morning\u2019s debate.Many of the lines from each of the candidates will have been familiar to listeners by this stage, though host Gavin Jennings did try to break some new ground. <\/p>\n One of the essential differences between the two candidates \u2013 Humphreys as a politician of government, Connolly a creature of opposition \u2013 became evident early on.<\/p>\n Perhaps thanks to Jennings\u2019 willingness to pursue them, both sounded less convincing than ever on two of the main criticisms that have been levelled at them throughout the campaign \u2013 the Shane O\u2019Farrell case for Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly\u2019s trip to Syria when Bashar al-Assad was in power.<\/p>\n Humphreys repeatedly apologised to O\u2019Farrell\u2019s mother who has accused her of not being sufficiently supportive of her cause. It was a sticky moment for her.<\/p>\n Connolly sounded less convincing than ever on the strange story of visiting Syria during the brutal civil war there and the mass killings by the regime, including of Palestinian refugees. <\/p>\n Connolly said that she didn\u2019t know who she was meeting or who was organising her itinerary, and continued to defend the trip as a \u201cfact-finding\u201d mission, which left her with a \u201chorror of war\u201d. Though presumably, she didn\u2019t think war was great idea beforehand.<\/p>\n Humphreys performed strongly on the question of a united Ireland, raising the prospect that the North could have its own devolved government within a future united Ireland, an idea that has been curiously underdiscussed.<\/p>\n But will she win over the voters who believe most strongly in the urgency of achieving a united Ireland? <\/p>\n Most of those are Sinn F\u00e9in supporters, and Sinn F\u00e9in is backing Connolly, whose enthusiasm for a united Ireland might be recent, but is vigorous.<\/p>\n Humphreys is a churchgoer and believes in God, we learned, whereas Connolly believes in \u201csomething bigger than me\u201d; she believes in \u201ca better society where we strive for fairness and equality\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have different concepts of what God is,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Many people\u2019s concept of hell will be listening to another presidential debate.<\/p>\n During the debate, which has now finished, Connolly also said Heather Humphreys had claimed that TD Paul Murphy was her director of elections which was not correct.<\/p>\n \u201cOver and over allegations are being made without foundation. I have a very competent female director of elections \u2026 Heather knows this and yet she throws it out as she\u2019s thrown out other things and this is not acceptable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Humphreys interjected that Murphy is \u201cconnected to your election \u2026 you can call him whatever you want\u201d. <\/p>\n In a lighter question, Connolly says her favourite Irish authors are Liam Mac Con Iomaire and Seamus Heaney while many other Irish female poets come to mind. <\/p>\n Humphreys says her favourite Irish author is Seamus Heaney and she is currently reading Irish Times journalist Frank McNally\u2019s book Not Making Hay, which outlines what life is like in rural Ireland and says it is \u201ca great read\u201d. <\/p>\n Connolly says she never called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, Dana Erlich, and believes she should have been called in on a regular basis and concerns about situation in Gaza raised. <\/p>\n Humphreys says it is a \u201cfragile situation\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n She says she will meet any head of state if elected president, saying she respects US president Donald Trump\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n \u201cLike any democratically elected leader, I will meet him,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Connolly says she will use her voice as often and as clearly as she can in relation to peace. <\/p>\n Asked if she believes in God, she says she certainly believes in something \u201cbigger than me\u201d and she respects the Constitution\u2019s reference to God.<\/p>\n \u201cI will take a public and solemn vow to serve the welfare of the people of Ireland,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Humphreys says she believes in God, adding that her faith has shaped her values in life.<\/p>\n \u201cI go to church but don\u2019t impose my views on anybody else. I think religion is a very private matter,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Asked about Irish unity, Humphreys says she wants to build bridges with Northern Ireland, adding that comes from a minority community and \u201cthis country has served me well\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to reach out to the people and I want to say to the people in Northern Ireland you have nothing to fear in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n She highlights the importance of working on the basis of the Good Friday Agreement in working towards a united Ireland.<\/p>\n Ask what her vision is, she spoke of looking at a devolved government in Northern Ireland that would \u201cwork differently\u201d as part on an \u201coverall Irish solution\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cThose are all conversations we have to have, and there\u2019s no point in pre-empting anything before you go in, you talk to people and the first thing you have to do is build trust,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n She says there is \u201ca lot of misunderstanding out there\u201d.<\/p>\n Connolly says her vision is a united Ireland.<\/p>\n Her vision as president will be to reach out to communities on all sides. <\/p>\n \u201cI have visited Northern Ireland repeatedly.\u201d<\/p>\n She said what is lacking is a Government response and said a cross-party committee report, which asked the Government to \u201coutline the direction for a united Ireland\u201d, has been left \u201csitting on the shelf\u201d. <\/p>\n Humphreys adds there has to be more work done in terms of building trust, though she says \u201cwe have come a long way\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI live on the Border and I know we have come a long way. Brexit stopped us in our tracks and it was very difficult.\u201d She says she will use the \u00c1ras as a safe place for unionists and nationalists to come to voice their concerns and talk to each other. <\/p>\n \u201cWe must bring people together and I will use the \u00c1ras to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n Connolly said: \u201cI\u2019m being accused of agreeing with Brexit, which is totally inaccurate. Heather has done this on numerous occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n Connolly says she was not aware of who Al-Aal was<\/p>\n The Irish Times report<\/a> was raised concerning Catherine Connolly being photographed with Saed Abd Al-Aal, who led a pro-Assad armed group responsible for killing and starvation in a refugee camp in Yarmouk, a southern district of the Syrian capital Damascus.<\/p>\n Connolly says she was not aware of who he was. <\/p>\n \u201cI went to Syria on a fact-finding mission,\u201d she said, adding that the first port of call was a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Beirut.<\/p>\n She said they met different groups and did not know Saed Abd Al-Aal or what he had done.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have no control when you go to a country like that as to who will come into your presence or not. That\u2019s no endorsement of the regime, I\u2019m on record for condemning the regime. I did not meet with Assad, our Taoiseach met with Assad,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She said the camp was \u201cutterly destroyed\u201d, adding that she \u201cfoolishly\u201d thought it was a tented encampment. \u201cIt was a city utterly destroyed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She wanted to see what the life of Palestinian refugees was like on this Syrian trip. She says the trip was organised by a group of activists.<\/p>\n Humphreys is asked again about the O\u2019Farrell family, who have said she did not support them in their campaign for a public inquiry<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI have huge sympathy for the O\u2019Farrell family and the loss of Shane was devastating for them. They have been through a difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n She says she spoke to Lucia and made representations on her behalf to ministers Shatter and Flanagan at the time and received correspondence that she sent to relevant ministers.<\/p>\n \u201cI did speak to her on the phone last year, if I remember correctly, but at the end of the day, I did my best, and I\u2019m sorry if she felt I didn\u2019t do enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked why she did not vote for a public inquiry on two occasions, she said she voted with the government at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry if it wasn\u2019t enough, anybody that came through my constituency office, I did my best for them. There are many times where I have helped people.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked how she will represent those who protest against asylum seekers, Humphreys says she promises to be a \u201cpresident for everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I feel strongly about, in terms of the division that\u2019s coming into our society. There\u2019s a lot of division here and as a president, I want to bring unity, I want people to sit down, have conversations and try and break down those prejudices and those barriers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She says she has experience in bringing people together. \u201cWe need people coming into this country,\u201d she said, describing Ireland as a \u201cland of opportunity\u201d, saying many come here and contribute to health and care services.<\/p>\n Connolly says she finds the term Ireland is full \u201cdisturbing and unacceptable\u201d and is not based on \u201cany evidence or facts\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean I won\u2019t be able to listen to people who feel disconnected,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She says Ireland is short of workers and anger from people is being channelled in the wrong way and at the \u201cwrong people\u201d.<\/p>\n Put to her that she has remained in Opposition since she became a TD since 2016, Connolly is asked when has she shown responsibility.<\/p>\n She says the Opposition is very important in a D\u00e1il, adding: \u201cOn each occasion that I was elected, we went up to Dublin, a group of like-minded TDs, to see could we form a government, but the differences were so vast.\u201d<\/p>\n She hopes the next election will bring a movement that will shape a \u201ccompletely different Republic\u201d. <\/p>\n Humphreys says she \u201cstepped up and made the hard decisions\u201d while in government.<\/p>\n \u201cDid we get everything right as a government? No, we didn\u2019t, and of course, we didn\u2019t get enough houses built and that\u2019s a disappointment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very disappointing that we haven\u2019t got more houses because we\u2019re spending billions on housing, and we still need to get more houses,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Connolly says the housing crisis is a consequence of government policy, adding that it is difficult to be an Opposition TD, saying you have to work two or three times harder.<\/p>\n Asked about the current budget, and if she could identify any mistakes, Humphreys says \u201cof course we [the Government] didn\u2019t get everything right\u2026I want to see more houses built”.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government deals with the budget of the day,\u201d she says, adding that she fought for money to roll out hot schools meal programme.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to get into this budget,\u201d she says, adding that the president \u201chas nothing to do with the budget\u201d.<\/p>\n The debate has begun with a question on their earnings and allowances last year which were put at over \u20ac200,000, while one of them will be earning over \u20ac325,000 as president.<\/p>\n Asked how they can relate to the majority of people who earn a lot less, Connolly says the salary \u201cis as it is\u201d adding that she has \u201cno difficulty relating to the people\u201d.<\/p>\n She acknowledges there is a \u201chuge cost of living crisis\u201d and housing crisis.<\/p>\n Humphreys responds that she was a credit union manager for many years, and recalled seeing the challenges people faced.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw people who were losing their houses and tried to help them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She added that her time at this credit union motivated her to get into politics.<\/p>\n Catherine Connolly pictured with man linked to war crimes in Syria<\/p>\n Catherine Connolly has been accused of making \u201cmisleading\u201d statements about meeting \u201cPalestinians\u201d in Syria after photographs emerged of her in the company of a militia leader linked to war crimes against Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n Ms Connolly is pictured with other members of an Irish delegation in the company of Saed Abd Al-Aal, who led a pro-Assad armed group responsible for killing and starvation in a refugee camp in Yarmouk, a southern district of the Syrian capital Damascus.<\/p>\n Read more from Ronan McGreevy and Cian Ward here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Good morning, both presidential candidates are set to debate shortly on RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Morning Ireland.<\/p>\n We will have updates here as it progresses.<\/p>\n