Davis denies allegations of cronyism

Presidential candidate Mary Davis has denied allegations of cronyism in the awarding of a PR contract to a charity in which she and her husband were involved.

Ms Davis and her husband Julien were on the board of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland when a PR contract was awarded to Mr Davis's public relations firm.

Speaking at the launch of her campaign in Dublin this morning, Mary Davis said she absented herself from any discussions about the awarding of the PR contract when she served as a director of the charity.

"There was absolutely no cronyism at play here," she said.

"I had nothing to do with the rewarding (sic) of the contract, and if there were any discussions in relation to the awarding of a contract, like the public relations contract, I was not a party to those discussions.

"I would have stood aside from those discussions, as indeed, I’m sure my husband would too, but you’re free to ask him his opinion on that."