Senator Frances Black unlikely to run in Presidential election
Independent senator Frances Black has said she now feels it is unlikely she will be running as a candidate in the Presidential election.
She told RTÉ News that she had not been contacted by any political parties and felt, at this stage, the door was closing.
Senator Black did not completely rule out standing, but said she has a lot of work still to do in the Oireachtas.
In political terms, Senator Black is most closely associated with the Occupied Territories Bill - she first tabled her proposed legislation on the topic back in 2018.
She has continued to campaign on the issue and held meetings with Tánaiste Simon Harris on the Government bill, which was approved by Cabinet today.
In March, Senator Black disclosed that she had been approached by a number of parties about running in the presidential election and indicated she would be open to the proposal.
The fact that no party followed up on the idea and engaged in talks appears to have led her to conclude today that she is not going to run.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Postmaster's union calls for €15m in Government funding to prevent post office decline
The Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) is to call on the Government to invest €15m per year over the next five years to prevent a decline in post offices. The IPU will tell the Oireachtas Arts and Community Committee today that current funding, which will cease at the end of this year, prevented closures and stabilised the network but unless it is replaced and adjusted, decline will begin again. President of the IPU president Sean Martin said that the postal network is not a legacy system, but a living infrastructure at risk of being lost. The committee will hear that the investment, recommended by a Grant Thornton report and validated by An Post, equates to just €3 per citizen annually and in return, the State would secure and strengthen a national asset. Grant Thornton said the post office network generates up to €776m each year in social and economic value. Mr Martin will highlight the resilience and importance of the services provided by the post office in terms of providing access to welfare payments, cash, and connection, especially during the covid pandemic and recent storms such as Storm Éowyn. In 2024, post offices processed 82m transactions at a total value of €14bn, with €12bn of this in cash. It also processed €7bn in social welfare payments. An Post chief executive David McRedmond will outline the main issues facing An Post as a business that need to be addressed by the Government, including the need to reshape the universal postal service to match the changing demands. With 70% of activity across the An Post retail business relating to Government contracts, there is a need for strategic approach to Government pricing. The committee will hear that the borrowing cap, which was set in 1985, is out of date and insufficient and must be increased immediately as it is restricting the ability to build for the future. Senior officials in the Department of Culture, Communications, and Sport will say that the Government is committed to supporting the post office network but, as with any business, post offices must work to continue to develop commercial strategies to attract customers and generate growth. With the support of the Government, An Post must ensure its commercial viability and the continued fulfilment of its mandate to provide a mail delivery service and ensure a viable postal network. Read More Post office network in Ireland at risk of collapse without urgent government funding
RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Senator Frances Black unlikely to run in Presidential election
Independent senator Frances Black has said she now feels it is unlikely she will be running as a candidate in the Presidential election. She told RTÉ News that she had not been contacted by any political parties and felt, at this stage, the door was closing. Senator Black did not completely rule out standing, but said she has a lot of work still to do in the Oireachtas. In political terms, Senator Black is most closely associated with the Occupied Territories Bill - she first tabled her proposed legislation on the topic back in 2018. She has continued to campaign on the issue and held meetings with Tánaiste Simon Harris on the Government bill, which was approved by Cabinet today. In March, Senator Black disclosed that she had been approached by a number of parties about running in the presidential election and indicated she would be open to the proposal. The fact that no party followed up on the idea and engaged in talks appears to have led her to conclude today that she is not going to run.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Oireachtas committee to see Arts Council chief's emails warning about botched €6.6m IT system
The head of the Arts Council alerted department officials to concerns over a botched IT system as far back as 2021, a raft of emails show. Almost 60 pieces of correspondence have been handed over to members of the Oireachtas arts committee which show that the outgoing director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly had sought "urgent" meetings with senior department officials and repeatedly raised the need for resources to address cost and time overruns. As far back as July 2021, 'variations arising on the project' were highlighted in relation to the €6.6m system which was ultimately abandoned, one document reveals. The committee recently heard that a senior civil servant did not act on serious concerns around the Arts Council's failed project, which Ms Kennelly described as 'very disappointing and frustrating'. The documents, seen by the Irish Examiner, show that updates on the ICT [information and communications technology] project were provided at various meetings across 2022. In November 2022, correspondence showed that the department was informed that the system was due to go live in late 2023, but 'there are cost overruns which are being monitored carefully'. Ms Kennelly also stressed that recruitment of roles associated with the project were a 'critical priority' for 'the timely and cost-efficient delivery of the new system, the roles referred to above are a critical priority'. In December 2023, Ms Kennelly sent an email 'about the Arts Council's urgent requirement to get a senior ICT resource into place'. 'As referenced at our liaison meeting on Monday last, we are at a critical junction with the business transformation project. To guarantee the delivery of current and future Arts Council strategy, a particular skillset of CIO is required,' she wrote, before expanding on the need to recruit staff 'to help us with the current challenges of the Business Transformation Programme'. Another email sent in February 2024 requested an 'urgent meeting with the secretary general' and other senior civil servants on the project. Issues with the abandoned IT project first came to light in February, with the plan originally expected to cost in the region of €3m for a bespoke grant application system. However, the project ballooned in costs and eventually cost the State €6.6m before it was cancelled. The council is still using its previous system, but has sought to purchase an off-the-shelf system, which would cost an initial €1.5m to install. There would then be an annual €241,000 subscription fee for the service. However, the Arts Council confirmed to the committee the bespoke system would cost €560,000 per year to operate. Appearing before the committee on June 11, Ms Kennelly said it was 'very disappointing and frustrating' that correspondence, which raised concerns around the project, was not sent to more senior civil servants. She said it seemed as if issues with the IT project were not being escalated up the chain of command and this had been a 'great surprise'.
