Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín believes Oireachtas members are “getting too stressed about the strategy” behind nominating conservative campaigner Maria Steen for the presidential election and hopes the situation will soon be resolved.
“I think that people need to be strong and just make a decision one way or the other,” he said. “Right now, there are 10 people who say they are willing to give a nomination. There are also four who are willing to give a nomination if she gets to a certain level.
“People shouldn’t get too stressed about the decision. It’s a simple decision. You empower another individual on the ballot. You give people a choice in a democratic election, so just go for it.”
Mr Tóibín was speaking ahead of his party’s pre-Dáil think-in in Co Kildare on Saturday. Asked if Aontú will endorse Ms Steen if she receives enough signatures to run, he said the issue will be discussed later today.
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“We haven’t officially decided as an ardchomhairle yet that we will officially endorse or campaign on behalf of Maria,” he said. “The only decision we’ve made as an ardchomhairle is that we would facilitate her selection. We have an ardchomhairle meeting today and I believe that’s going to be discussed.”
The State’s treatment of children is the headline issue of the think-in, which Mr Tóibín said includes the right to life. It is an issue that links his party to Ms Steen, who is a member of Catholic advocacy group the Iona Institute and an opponent of the repealing of the Eighth Amendment.
Mr Tóibín called for a reform of the threshold needed to achieve a nomination for the presidential election in Ireland.
He acknowledged there needs to be “some level of filtration in terms of candidates getting on to that ballot” but described the current system as unjust and disproportionately favouring Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
He was also critical of the Government for “pushing us towards a European defence union”, amid discussion around the removal of the ‘triple lock’, which governs Irish military deployments. Aontú believes another referendum should be held if plans for its abolition go ahead.
The triple lock mechanism must be used before Irish troops can be deployed on overseas peacekeeping missions. It guarantees that no more than 12 Irish soldiers can be sent into battle zones without the permission of the government, Dáil Éireann and the United Nations.
