Main Points
- The Government is to force through a vote of confidence in Tánaiste Simon Harris today.
- Independent candidate Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys enter the final 10 days of the campaign, trading blows on the future of the Special Criminal Court and other matters.
Key Reads
- Kathy Sheridan: Catherine Connolly should ask Jim Gavin what a smear campaign looks like
- Miriam Lord: Winter may be coming, but Opposition not short of fuel to roast the Taoiseach
- Sign-up for our political newsletter Inside Politics and never miss an update on the campaign trail
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Ms Connolly said climate change and the destruction of the natural environment represent the “defining social and moral challenges of our time”.
The independent presidential candidate said the Government has failed to give the climate and environmental emergency “the sustained attention, focus, and action it deserves”.
“We need more than slogans and targets. We need a fundamental shift - one that places environmental responsibility and social justice at the heart of everything we do.
“This is not simply about carbon budgets or emissions - it is about fairness, the quality of life we leave behind, and the kind of country we want to build,” she said.
Ms Connolly said it is the poorest communities across the world who suffer the most from the effects of climate change.
“Here in Ireland too, it is those least able to afford it who are paying the price - from flooding and energy costs to the loss of natural habitats and community green spaces.”
As president, she said she would make climate action and the protection of Ireland’s natural heritage a central theme of her presidency.
“As president, I will use my voice and the platform of the Áras to highlight the urgency of climate action - to support communities, scientists, and activists working for change, and to celebrate the deep connection between the Irish people and the natural world.
“Our rivers, our bogs, our coastline, our forests - these are not just resources to be managed, but gifts to be protected and cherished. We have a duty to future generations to act now, to protect our shared home,” she said.
Catherine Connolly is set to be interviewed this evening by RTÉ’s Katie Hannon at 7pm.
It will follow a day of campaigning in Co Meath where Ms Connolly is scheduled visit community groups and members of the public in Trim, Navan, and Ashbourne.
The Occupied Territories Bill is likely to feature on the campaign trail today after Taoiseach Micheál Martin signalled it was unlikely to include a ban on services.
On Tuesday, Fine Gael presidential candidate Heather Humphreys said she was in favour of including services, which has also been recommended by the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee. The other presidential candidate, Catherine Connolly, is strongly in favour of including services.
Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said, “the feedback I’m getting, it’s not just implementable”, though the official Dáil record contains a slightly different version of what Mr Martin told the House.
Read more on that from Pat Leahy here.
The Government is set to force through a Dáil motion of confidence in Simon Harris today.
It comes as Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said his party would next week table a no-confidence motion in the Tánaiste over controversies in Children’s Health Ireland and waiting times for scoliosis surgery.
The Government motion is an apparent bid to offset the risk of a debate on disabilities next week, the final week of campaigning in the presidential election.
Late on Tuesday, party whips were informed that the Coalition will put down a confidence motion in Mr Harris at 1.12pm on Wednesday, with a vote to follow at 3.30pm.
Read more on that here.
Good morning. With nine to days to go, both presidential candidates are on the campaign trail once again today.
It comes as several non-Fine Gael figures, including former Fianna Fáil tánaiste Mary Coughlan and former Progressive Democrats leader Mary Harney backed Heather Humphreys on Tuesday, with Tánaiste Simon Harris saying the Fine Gael candidate was gaining “momentum”.
Former Green Party TD Brian Leddin meanwhile announced his resignation from the party over its support for Catherine Connolly and its current direction, while former Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly said it was a mistake for her party to back the candidate.
