LEADERS of opposition parties are due to meet next week to finalise a decision on whether to run a joint candidate in the Presidential election – with former RTE star Joe Duffy not being ruled out as an option.
It comes as Housing Minister James Browne plans to announce the date for polling in the coming weeks as he says the public needs to know when the election will be held.
An election to replace Michael D Higgins in the Aras needs to be held before November 11.
However, political parties have been holding back on their candidate selection processes as they fear a lengthy election campaign could get dirty.
Opposition parties previously met to discuss the possibility of joining behind one candidate but there has been no progress as leaders wait to see if Sinn Fein will put forward their own runner.
The group of left leaning parties that are in discussions for a joint candidate include Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats, Sinn Fein and People Before Profit.
Sinn Fein have held internal discussions about whether they want to back a joint candidate or put their own runner in the race with these talks still ongoing.
A move for a joint candidate from the left would become less likely if Sinn Fein decided to go it alone with their own party candidate.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has revealed that opposition leaders are planning to hold further talks next week as he confirmed the idea of a joint candidate is not dead yet.
He said: “I’m involved in those discussions and People Before Profit are very enthusiastic about the idea of a joint left candidate.
“We think with the right candidate and the right platform, we might win the Presidency and we could have a left candidate in the Presidency again.
“From our perspective and this is objectively true, this process is still alive.
JOINT CANDIDATE BID
“I would be very hopeful that we would have progress towards a joint left candidate before the Dail recess.”
The Dublin TD confirmed that several names had been discussed but remained tight lipped on who they might be.
Asked if ex-RTE star Joe Duffy may be among the names, Deputy Murphy laughed: “No comment.”
The LiveLine host did not rule out running for the Aras after he left his long running show last week but confirmed that he has NOT been approached by a party to run.
It comes as Housing Minister James Browne revealed that he wants to announce the date of the presidential election before the Cabinet breaks for a summer break.
He told the Irish Sun: “I expect to be having that discussion with the leaders before the recess with a view to bringing something to Cabinet.
“So we will have that detailed discussion. It will be up for the Government to make a decision but I think people need to know the date as soon as possible.”
