#presidential-election

#presidential-election

The minister seems happy to skip the first Cabinet meeting since summer and has also taken on role of director of elections for the presidential election Jack Chambers stood in the community garden and sunroom in the village of Kilmeedy in west Limerick taking in the vista. It's marvellous that the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation was able to take a moment for reflection on his visit 12 days ago.

The decision by leader Mary Lou McDonald not to put herself forward will no doubt disappoint some of her supporters. She is a skilful campaigner and has repeatedly proven herself as a formidable debater - invaluable traits on the hustings. Some argue she is such a totem for Sinn Féin that were she to lose, she could damage both her own prospects and those of the party, so inextricably are their fates linked.

It had been expected that each candidate would be given 15 minutes to present - but this may be reduced given that 17 candidates are now seeking Kerry County Council backing

Heather Humphreys, Catherine Connolly and Jim Gavin are virtually neck and neck among voters, while Bob Geldof leads wildcards on 7pc

IAA's Declan Fitzpatrick among those to publicly support former Dublin manager in Áras run The aviation regulator has refused to comment on whether its chief ­executive, Declan Fitzpatrick, was speaking in a personal capacity when he endorsed Jim Gavin for the presidential election. A number of high-ranking executives in semi-state agencies have broken with the tradition of staying out of party politics and publicly backed Mr Gavin's campaign.

The Middle East conflict is likely to be a major focus in Ireland's presidential election due to the candidacy of Catherine Connolly, a known supporter of Palestine.

Peter Power, the executive director of Unicef Ireland, has been involved in confidential talks with Fianna Fáil's leadership, suggesting he may be a potential candidate for the upcoming presidential election.