Labour Party confirms support for Catherine Connolly's presidential campaign
The party joins the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and a number of Independents in supporting Ms Connolly's run.
The meeting was told of a consultation process held with party members and a clear majority were in favour of supporting her.
Ms Connolly is a former member of the Labour Party but has been an Independent since 2006.
Labour TD for Dublin South West, Ciarán Ahern, has been chosen as the party coordinator with Ms Connolly's campaign.
Mr Ahern said the decision to support Deputy Connolly (68) is 'in the spirit of supporting the development and growth of the Left across the country and demonstrating that an alternative politics is possible here, a cause which our party leader Ivana Bacik has led and promoted over recent years'.
'While there are issues where we have differed with Deputy Connolly, we are determined that the social democratic values of equality, justice and tolerance should shape the Presidency over the next seven years and follow the legacy of Michael D Higgins,' Mr Ahern said in a statement.
'We believe that Catherine Connolly shares those values, and has put them into practice during her political career.
'Catherine will make an excellent President, campaigning and advocating for the common good.'
Ms Connolly has drawn support as a Left unity candidate since launching her campaign this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking at the launch of her campaign, Ms Connolly said she hopes to 'empower people' to find their own voices.
'I'm standing to enable people, to empower people to find their own voices, to stand up and be counted, to say there is a different way,' she said.
'We must deal with climate change. We must be a voice for peace. We have to stop the normalisation of war and violence.
'We have to stop the normalisation of homelessness. We have to say that these problems are not inevitable.'
First elected to the Dáil as an Independent in 2016, Deputy Connolly left the Labour Party in 2006 when she was denied the chance to be running mate for Michael D Higgins in Galway West in the 2007 general election.
She worked as a barrister and clinical psychologist before being elected to Galway City Council 17 years ago.
Former MEP, Mairéad McGuinness, has been chosen as Fine Gael's candidate for the presidential election, while Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have yet to throw their support behind a candidate.
Last week, a court heard Riverdance star Micheal Flatley is planning to move back to Ireland to seek a nomination to run for the presidency.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor has expressed an interest in running for the office, however he is seen as unlikely to secure the necessary support from 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities to get on the ballot.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Labour backs Connolly, and Flatley jumps the shark
Cormac McQuinn and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: The Labour Party has backed Independent TD Catherine Connolly's bid for the Áras . And there is little appetite in Sinn Féin for Mary Lou McDonald to run for president as party figures move closer to the idea of also backing Connolly. Elsewhere, presidential hopeful Michael Flatley had to explain why he wasn't a threat to great white sharks everywhere. The ongoing debate over the Occupied Territories Bill and whether it will include services in its final iteration, and the continuing Government move towards getting rid of the so-called triple lock governing overseas deployment of Irish troops will likely be two issues that will be put to any presidential candidates. The Social Democrats readmitted Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes after his eight-month suspension from the party. And Donald Trump is intent on more trade chaos as he announced a slew of new tariffs. But will Ireland come out of it all relatively unscathed? Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week: Rosie O'Donnell's new show at the Olympia gets a stinker of a review, the inside story of JP McManus's failed €30m Irish Rugby Experience , and Ryan Tubridy living his best life in London.
Agriland
a day ago
- Agriland
Planning guidelines for biomethane plants a 'key priority'
The development of centralised planning guidelines for biomethane plants to support local authorities is a "key priority", according to government. Minister of State Marian Harkin, speaking in the Dáil on behalf of government recently, said that the "urgent need" for the introduction of these guidelines for suitable locations for biomethane plants is recognised. "Priority deliverables under the National Biomethane Strategy include actions which will see the development of planning guidelines to support local authorities when assessing anaerobic digestion (AD) plants with planning applications and a review of resourcing requirements of key government agencies to support development of the industry," the minister said. "We need a clear understanding of AD technology and consistency of approach by our planning authorities when they are assessing AD projects to improve our planning and permitting processes." These planning guidelines will be developed by the biomethane implementation group, comprised of relevant key government departments and agencies, as well as sectoral representatives. Minister Harkin has said that while a timeline cannot be provided, guidelines are already being developed by the biomethane implementation group. Labour TD Alan Kelly has said it is "absolutely incredible that in 2025, we do not have planning guidelines or regulations regarding this technology". "I actually believe in these renewables and in this whole technology but given that we are going to have between 200 and 250 of these plants all over the country, we have to start asking serious questions about why we have not got regulations on this before we start doing it," deputy Kelly said. "However, we also need to ensure communities understand and have rules around which they can engage on where these plants are going to be put in place, and that is not happening. "The locations where some of these plants have been proposed are being fought across the country because there is a lack of public and community engagement. "We really need to look at how we are going to ensure there is a system in place for the regulation and planning of these." He added that there needs to be a plan that outlines spatially and geographically where Ireland needs to put all of these plants, along with "what size we need to put in each place, what tariff will be in place to make it economically viable, and what type of waste is going into all of these plants". "We need to do so through a regulatory framework that exists, an economic framework that is viable and planning guidelines," he said. Minister of State Marian Harkin said that biomethane will play a "crucial role" in Ireland reaching its decarbonisation targets and security of energy supply. "Ireland is uniquely positioned to develop a sustainable biomethane sector due to the nature of the agricultural sector in our country," she said. "Government has committed to deliver up to 5.7 TWh of indigenously-produced biomethane per annum by 2030. "The national biomethane strategy is Ireland's first major policy statement on biomethane and is an important milestone in the development of this indigenous sector." Harkin said it is recognised that these AD plants are "significant infrastructure and require a full planning and permitting process to ensure consideration of a range of factors". "These include location, visual impact, land zoning plans, ecology, economies," she said. "As such, a key priority is the development of centralised planning guidelines for AD plants to support our local authorities. When finalised, these will be available on the biomethane information hub."
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Labour backs Connolly in presidential race
The Labour Party has formally agreed to back Catherine Connolly's campaign to become the next president of Ireland, saying that while it has had "differences" with the Independent TD it believes she is "the left" candidate. Labour's executive board, which consists of representatives of different sections of the party and its parliamentary party of TDs, senators and MEP Aodhan O Riordain, made the decision after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting this evening. The meeting came after grassroots Labour members were asked for their views on whether to support the campaign of Catherine Connolly, who left the Labour Party in 2007 after a decision was made for her not to be then TD Michael D Higgins's general election running mate in Galway West. Catherine Connolly has since said in 2016 that Labour has "lost its soul", a comment which while almost a decade ago has previously led to some friction between her and her former party. However, Labour said that they would support her campaign after party members voted in a "clear majority". The executive board and parliamentary party voted in favour of doing backing Ms Connolly in a vote which is understood to have been significant but not universal. In a statement, which did not include a quote from party leader Ivana Bacik, Labour's TD for Dublin South-West Ciarán Ahern, who will now be the party's co-ordinator with the Catherine Connolly campaign, said: "At this evening's meeting it was agreed that the Party should support Catherine Connolly as the Left candidate for the presidency. "We are doing so in the spirit of supporting the development and growth of the Left across the country and demonstrating that an alternative politics is possible here, a cause which our party leader Ivana Bacik has led and promoted over recent years. "While there are issues where we have differed with Deputy Connolly, we are determined that the social democratic values of equality, justice and tolerance should shape the presidency over the next seven years and follow the legacy of Michael D Higgins. "We believe that Catherine Connolly shares those values, and has put them into practice during her political career. "Catherine will make an excellent president, campaigning and advocating for the common good." Catherine Connolly's campaign has already received the backing of the Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity and a number of Independent politicians. However, while she was already highly likely to reach the quota of 20 TDs and senators needed to become a formal presidential candidate - the other route option being the support of four local authorities - Labour's support has underlined her credentials as the combined left candidate at this stage of the race. So far, the only other formal candidate is Fine Gael's former EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness, who has been nominated by her party but will not be officially confirmed until early September at a planned Fine Gael event. Rumours and speculation continue in relation to a number of other potential but at this stage unofficial candidates, in addition to ongoing questions over whether Sinn Fáin and Fianna Fáil will run their own candidates, support a different candidate, or remain out of the race. The presidential election must take place within 60 days or less of the end of President Michael D Higgins's second term, which will end on 11 November. This means the earliest the election can theoretically take place is 11 September, with an October date generally believed to be most likely.
