FG presidential hopefuls to state their case

The four candidates vying to be Fine Gael's presidential candidate will this morning outline their case to the parliamentary party ahead of a vote in nine days' time.

Pat Cox, Avril Doyle, Mairéad McGuinness and Gay Mitchell will have seven minutes each to set out to Fine Gael's TDs, Senators and MEPs why they would be the best hope for the party in the race to the Áras.

The candidates will speak in alphabetical order and the meeting will not allow for questioning.

Nominations officially close tomorrow, and despite speculation someone else would enter the race, that is now unlikely.

All four will go before a special convention in the capital in nine days time where the choice will be made by the Fine Gael electoral college.

While councillors and the National Executive have a say, 70% of the vote is made up by the parliamentary party, so winning hearts and minds today will be crucial.