Connolly warns of ‘politics of fear’ as Humphreys says rival ‘insulted allies’

Catherine Connolly has claimed “politics of fear” is being used against her after Heather Humphreys said she has “legitimate questions to answer”.

Ms Humphreys accused Ms Connolly of insulting allies of Ireland, but Ms Connolly insisted in response that she is a “committed European”, and claimed Fine Gael is “worried”.

The two also debated Ireland’s neutrality and the triple lock, the mechanism for sending Irish troops on peacekeeping missions.

Ms Connolly said there should be a referendum on removing the triple lock, saying it changes Ireland’s neutrality, while Ms Humphreys said that while she “fully supports” neutrality, Russia and the US can veto sending Irish peacekeepers abroad.

The two women are the only candidates in the presidential race after several high-profile figures failed to secure nominations from elected politicians and after Fianna Fail’s Jim Gavin withdrew.

A Business Post/Red C poll, carried out from October 1 to 7, put left-wing independent Ms Connolly on 36%, Fine Gael candidate Ms Humphreys on 25%, and Mr Gavin on 12%.

Mr Gavin withdrew from the race on the evening of Sunday October 5.

In a Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll published last Sunday, Ms Connolly was on 32%, nine points ahead of Fine Gael’s Ms Humphreys on 23%. Mr Gavin was on 15%.

Ms Humphreys said after the on-air debate that opinion polls are not affecting her style or strategy, and said she was asking Ms Connolly to answer “simple” questions and was not being “nasty”.

Ms Connolly claimed Fine Gael is “worried”, which was “very, very evident” from comments made by former minister Ivan Yates, who said the party needs to “smear the bejaysus” out of her.

“I haven’t heard Fine Gael distance themselves from those comments,” she said.

Ms Humphreys said: “I don’t take advice from Ivan Yates, and I don’t even listen to his programme (podcast)”, but added that Ms Connolly has “legitimate” questions to answer.

Asked if she believes Ms Humphreys, who said she is not involved in a smear campaign, Ms Connolly said: “Heather has said that, but actually today there were a lot of allegations against me without any basis whatsoever.

“They’re going down the road of throwing as much as they can.”

During the debate on RTE’s This Week programme, Ms Connolly rejected the suggestion from Ms Humphreys that she is not pro-business or pro-Europe, and described allegations that she had insulted allies of Ireland as “inaccurate”.

She said: “I have been pro-business all my life. My father was a qualified plasterer and then became a small builder. I fully understand the business side.

“I’m absolutely pro-European. Asking questions of the military industrial complex and the direction that the compass is going in Europe, it’s not the same as anti-European. I’m a committed European and a committed European asks questions.”

Ms Humphreys said: “You’ve managed to insult our allies. You’ve insulted Germany, you’ve insulted France, you’ve insulted the UK, our nearest neighbour, you’ve insulted the US.

“That doesn’t go without consequences. If you’re a president of this country, you have to meet other leaders and other heads of state, and how are you going to speak to them? How are you going to talk to them?”

Ms Connolly said: “There were so many things said there that I’ve insulted people. I don’t recall ever insulting anybody in my life.”

She added she “would hope” Russia would withdraw from parts of Ukraine it has occupied since 2014 as part of a future peace agreement.

“Obviously, you can’t invade a sovereign country, but at some stage, sense has to prevail,” she said.

Ms Humphreys also asked Ms Connolly whether she asked a former employee with a Special Criminal Court conviction “what she was going to do with the guns”.

Ms Humphreys also raised Ms Connolly’s use of a parliamentary allowance to fund a trip to Syria in 2018 and how “it took her 24 hours” to say that she would not employ someone who is on the sex offender register to the Aras.

She said: “These are the people that have spoken out against Europe, these are the people who are supporting you: Paul Murphy, far left… Clare Daly, far left… Mick Wallace, far left.

“These are the people you associate with. Catherine, I’m a centre-ground politician.”

Ms Connolly said: “This is the politics of fear and allegations being made that are utterly without substance.

“We have the politics of smear, of making allegations that are unfounded without having any substantive debate on the issues.”

The dust is still settling on the dramatic shake-up to the presidential election caused by Mr Gavin’s withdrawal a week ago.

Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin addressed a party event on Saturday night, telling the gathering he is sorry “for how things turned out”.

Mr Martin said he would vote for Ms Humphreys in the presidential election, but said it would show “a certain degree of arrogance” if he told his party how to cast their votes.

Ms Connolly said on RTE Radio that Mr Martin’s support for Ms Humphreys indicates there is “no difference” in the philosophies of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

“We all knew that for a long time, and he’s actually set it out now and confirmed it,” Ms Connolly said.

“So I’m saying to the ordinary members of Fianna Fail, you know my track record in the Dail, you know my history in relation to standing up for social justice, for equality, for violence against women, and in relation to the north.”

Ms Humphreys said if Fianna Fail supporters were going to vote for Mr Gavin, “I would ask them to give me their number two please”.

Ahead of the debate, Ms Humphreys remarked in the studio that she could apply for a job in RTE, referring to all the broadcast debates she has taken part in, while Ms Connolly said “here we go again” as she entered the radio studio.

Ms Humphreys also referenced Ms Connolly’s football skills during the debate, saying “I have to give that one to Catherine”, to which Ms Connolly replied, “I’ll teach you”.