Independent presidential hopefuls have urged Fianna Fáil not to block its councillors from facilitating non-party candidates getting on the ballot paper in the upcoming election.
Aspiring candidates need the support of 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities to enter the race.
Several councils plan to hold special meetings to hear from Independent candidates over the next 2½ weeks.
Kerry County Council will on Monday be the first local authority in the country to hear presentations from at least 14 people hoping to contest next month’s presidential election.
RM Block
A vote on whether or not to facilitate a candidate to contest the election will not happen until next week, however.
Fine Gael, the second largest party in local government, has selected former minister Heather Humphreys as its candidate.
The party has told its councillors to oppose the nomination of any other candidates in council votes, narrowing the path to nomination for independents hoping to enter the race.
Fianna Fáil, which has slightly more councillors than Fine Gael, has not yet issued any instructions to its own councillors.
Former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin and Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher will vie to be Fianna Fáil’s candidate during a meeting of its parliamentary party on Tuesday. The nominee will be chosen by secret ballot.
Fianna Fáil’s national executive will meet after the party’s candidate is selected. The formal stance to be taken by councillors is expected to be discussed at that meeting, with guidance likely to issue afterwards.
Fianna Fáil sources declined to say what that guidance might be in advance of the national executive meeting.
Independent presidential hopefuls have criticised Fine Gael’s instructions to its councillors, with one, former solicitor Nick Delehanty, arguing it is “undemocratic”.
He told The Irish Times there is “a chance for Fianna Fáil to stand out as the democratic party that trusts the people to make the right choice”. He said he will be asking its councillors to “lend me their vote” or abstain to facilitate his candidacy.
Businessman Gareth Sheridan is expected to address councillors in Kerry on Monday, as is Mr Delehanty. Mr Sheridan said Fine Gael’s move is “predictable”, during an interview on Newstalk radio.
He said Fianna Fáil issuing similar instructions to its councillors would definitely make the route to a nomination “more difficult”, though “not impossible”.
Mr Sheridan said: “I would urge Fianna Fáil not to follow suit and to allow democracy play out.”
