Heather Humphreys builds major lead over Seán Kelly for Áras run as Fine Gael chair and Enterprise Minister lend support
Both of the hopefuls had previously ruled themselves out of the running, but Fine Gael's plans for the presidency were thrown into chaos last week when former EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness ruled herself out for health reasons.
The party's national executive last night decided to reopen nominations, with a deadline of September 2.
To secure the party's nomination a candidate will need 20 votes from councillors, 25 members of the Oireachtas and five members of the Executive Council.
Those who have publicly backed Ms Humphreys, a former cabinet minister and TD for Cavan-Monaghan, so far include:
Peter Burke, Longford – Westmeath TD and Minister for Enterprise
Patrick O'Donovan – Limerick TD and Minister for Arts
Neale Richmond – TD for Dublin Rathdown and Minister of State for International Development
Emer Higgins – Dublin Mid-West TD and junior minister at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
John Clendennen – Offaly TD
Catherine Callaghan – Carlow-Kilkenny TD
Micheál Carrigy – TD for Longford-Westmeath
Grace Boland – TD for Dublin Fingal West
James Geoghegan – TD for Dublin Bay South
In addition, around 20 more party TDs and senators have either come out publicly for Ms Humphreys or are understood to be supporting her bid.
They include: TDs Hildegarde Naughton, Alan Dillon, Jerry Buttimer, John Paul O'Shea, David Maxwell, Frankie Feighan and Paula Butterly.
Senators Mark Duffy, Manus Boyle, Maria Byrne, Sean Kyne, Sen Joe O'Reilly, Cathal Byrne, PJ Murphy and Nikki Bradley are also understood to be backing Ms Humphreys.
So far Senators Noel O'Donovan, Michael Kenneally, Garrett Ahearn and TDs Joe Cooney, Noel McCarthy, Michael Kenneally and Brian Brennan are supporting Mr Kelly, the MEP from Kerry.
Micheál Carrigy TD, the chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, came out in favour of Ms Humphreys in what is likely to be a hugely significant move.
The parliamentary party carries 55pc of the electorate college weighting — so chairman Ms Carrigy's unalloyed support for Ms Humphreys will likely be highly influential on his colleagues.
Mr Carrigy told the Irish Independent: 'I have already signed papers and will be nominating Heather. I have done it already.
'For me, she is the best candidate. No election is easy, and we have to work to achieve results, but I believe she is the best candidate for Fine Gael to put forward.'
Mr Carrigy, newly elected as a TD for Longford-Westmeath after a long spell in the Seanad, added: 'I believe she will be an ideal candidate for the Presidency of Ireland.'
He said he was not counting chickens, but believed Ms Humphreys had the intellect, experience and empathy to represent all of the Irish people. 'Whoever is the candidate selected by the Fine Gael party, we will all have to put our shoulders to the wheel in supporting them,' he said.
'But I am backing Heather Humphreys.'
Peter Burke said: 'It is an honour to nominate Heather Humphreys to be Fine Gael's Presidential candidate.
'Heather brings over a decade of Cabinet experience and has consistently demonstrated her ability to unite people, extend the hand of friendship, and strengthen communities across this island.'
He added: 'Her contribution to public life has been immense, serving with distinction in a wide range of Cabinet roles, and her work continues to leave a lasting impact in towns and communities right across Ireland.
'I look forward to supporting her campaign.'
Announcement
Ms Humphreys declared her intention to run for the presidency this morning on Northern Sound FM.
She appeared on the Joe Finnegan Show on Northern Sound, less than an hour after her party colleague Seán Kelly confirmed his bid for the Áras.
"I have decided to go for it and I will be seeking the Fine Gael nomination to be a candidate for the president of Ireland," she said.
She added: "I've had a good rest. The tank is full again. Timing is a funny thing, because I have never felt as good about taking on a challenge."
Fine Gael is now on course for an internal leadership battle over who should be their candidacy for the presidential election.
Speaking this morning Ms Humphreys said: "I'm very conscious that when I was on your program in May, and I told you I wasn't running and that I will be supporting Mairead McGuinness, and that was the truth," she said, in relation to Ms McGuinness who last week announced her withdrawal from the race.
"I wasn't going to stand against her, and that's being straight about it. But as we know, everything has changed with Mairead's news last week, and I would just like to wish her well in her recovery.
Ms Humphreys attributed her decision not to seek Dáil re-election last November to being "burnt out".
"I'd managed both Department of Social protection, the Department of Rural and Community Development - two standard-owned, separate departments - I've managed them for five years. At one point I had the Department of Justice as well, so a lot on."
She said that having the backing of her family is "the most important thing from my perspective", though she acknowledges that presidential campaigns are not easy on the families of candidates.
"If past presidential campaigns are anything to go by, it's not pleasant for the family, but they are behind me, and they do know the importance of public service," Ms Humphreys said.
Acknowledging the announcement by Fine Gael colleague and former GAA President Seán Kelly that he too intends to seek the party nomination, Ms Humphreys said: "Seán has put his name forward, and I know Seán to be a gentleman."
In a statement this morning Mr Kelly said: "The time is right to put my name forward for this enormously important role."
He said: "As someone who has devoted my life to serving communities across Ireland, as a teacher, as President of the GAA, and for the past sixteen years as MEP for Ireland South, I am confident that I can represent the country with integrity, inclusiveness, and a commitment to our communities. To be entrusted with that honour would be the greatest privilege of my life."
He said: "I take this opportunity to particularly thank my constituents in Ireland South for their unwavering support over the years and their encouragement in recent days."
He said he believed a competitive selection process is good for Fine Gael" and would "ensure that we are best placed heading into this vitally important election."
Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, he said he was now 'enthusiastic' about running for president.
"Obviously circumstances changed with Mairead having to withdraw and that changed the position. We needed a new candidate. I was the last man standing the last time.
He continued: "I'm delighted and enthusiastic about the prospect of running for President of Ireland, reflecting what many people have said to me because I underestimated the support I had at grassroots while I was out in Europe," he said.
"In the last two or three weeks I'm here at home, everywhere I went people said to me, Seán we're very disappointed you can't go forward, we had the shoes ready, we're looking forward to calling to you in the hours for a cup of tea."
Mr Kelly announced on the very same programme last month that he would not seek the Fine Gael nomination for the Áras, describing the position as merely "ceremonial" compared to his work as an MEP.
"Well that was in comparison to presidents maybe around the world who have executive power," he said.
"But I think actually there's a huge potential in the job is the highest honour in Ireland," he said, praising the "tremendous work" carried out by previous Irish presidents.
"I would bring the Áras to the people as much as the people to the Áras," he added.
Mr Kelly welcomes the prospect of competing with fellow Fine Gael member Heather Humphreys which he says is "good for democracies".
"We didn't have a contest for a long time now. We didn't have a contest at the last presidential election some years ago, within the contest of leadership, we wouldn't go to the contest in marriage of the nomination. So I think people would like to have a contest. Contests are good for parties, they're good for democracies."
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Her proficiency in the Irish language was called into question after she was appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in 2014. Asked a month into the role if she had started Irish lessons after she admitted she had lost the ability to speak the language fluently, Humphreys said: 'No I haven't started Irish lessons yet, but I do hope to get some squeezed in at some stage shortly. I can't give you a timescale because the schedule is very busy.' She also faced criticism two years into the brief when she refused to meet with Irish language organisations such as Conradh na Gaeilge and Údarás na Gaeltachta. Humphreys defended her decision, arguing that responsibility for such meetings fell to the minister of state in the Department, not her. Around the same time, she also declined to be interviewed on the Irish-language radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG). 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The reforms would have introduced a tiered system for Disability Allowance and would have linked the level of payments to a determination on capacity to work and the nature of the disability. A month before she announced the decision not to proceed with the reforms, the government had received a resounding defeat in the Care Referendum. The proposed amendment, if passed, would have seen the deletion of reference to a woman's 'life within the home' and her 'duties in the home'. However, disability campaigners argued that the replacement wording put forward by the government would have classed disabled people as 'burdens' on their families and society. Humphreys was also the minister in charge when the government decided to double the fine a jobseeker receives if they do not engage with unemployment services , a move that was heavily criticised by opposition TDs. 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