Peter Casey to decide on pulling out of race

Peter Casey will announce this weekend whether he will remain in the presidential race after talking to family and supporters.

The former Dragons’ Den star sparked controversy this week over remarks he made about the Travelling community.

Mr Casey said Travellers are “basically people camping on other people’s land”. He said he does not recognise Travellers as a distinct ethnic minority.

Despite getting a strong positive feedback for the remarks, as well as a backlash, the candidate said he does not want people to elect him as president of Ireland “based on one statement” and admitted that he is “surprised beyond belief” by the reaction to his remarks.

“I promised my mother that I would stand years ago for the presidency of Ireland and she would not want me to stand if I was going to get elected on this platform,” he told RTÉ News at One.

Mr Casey will take the weekend off from campaigning to “think carefully about whether to continue in the race” and will make his decision known on Monday. If he does decide to step away from campaigning, he said he would ask people not to vote for him and said his preferred candidate would be senator Joan Freeman.

Mr Casey’s name will remain on the ballot paper regardless of whether he halts his campaign, as the last day for withdrawing from the race was September 26.

Reacting to Mr Casey’s statement, President Michael D Higgins said: “I think reflection is very good and I do wish him well. It would be very cynical to take one of the most vulnerable communities and use them as an opportunity to kick up your ratings in the polls.”

Mr Higgins said he thinks Mr Casey’s comments on the Travelling community were “appalling”.

Separately, Mr Higgins defended the unvouched €317,000 allowance the President receives, claiming that the money enables the President to take “some independent action without having to seek the permission of the Government”.

It was to allow the incumbent of the office to have some independence in putting the stamp on their presidency and that’s what happened, that’s how it has come to be that, in the present circumstances, you have 20,000 people coming through the rooms, you have all of the different groups who are being received.

He gave the example of holding receptions for those involved in the Special Olympics and people who responded to the flooding emergency last year.

Mr Higgins said he is “thinking of proposing” an independent audit committee that would look at how the €317,000 is spent.

He said this committee would be involved in a continuous audit which would include visiting the Áras three or four times a year.

He said it would be up to the committee to decide whether full details of its audit would be published.

Mr Higgins said he expects the cost of his campaign will come in somewhere between €360,000 and €390,000.