'Fine Gael are terrified,' says Connolly as Humphreys accuses her of 'double standards'
Catherine Connolly canvasing in Galway City on Sunday. She said today: 'At this point in the campaign, I'm deeply disappointed we're talking about my role as a barrister.' Photo: Lauren Slane /PA
Independent presidential election candidate Catherine Connolly claims Fine Gael is “terrified” of her as her opponent Heather Humphreys continued the line of attack about her work as a barrister working for banks and repossessing homes.
Fine Gael has insisted that Ms Connolly must answer questions about work on her role as a barrister in home repossession cases as they accused her of “hypocrisy” for criticising banks in the Dáil without declaring her previous work.
Ms Humphreys alleged in a weekend interview that Ms Connolly was “making money out of people’s misfortunes” when she worked as a barrister on behalf of banks, with Ms Connolly hitting back that Fine Gael's presidential campaign had "hit a new low".
Ms Connolly still declined to confirm on Monday whether she had worked on bank repossession, insisting the Bar Council has stated that she was “not free to talk about her work”.
With Ms Humphreys some 18 points behind her opponent in polling just days out from the vote, Fine Gael has sent several ministers, including deputy leader Helen McEntee and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, on the attack, while also producing attack videos calling on Ms Connolly to clarify her position.
Speaking at Leinster House, Ms Connolly stated she has not worked as a barrister since 2016, the same year she was first elected to the Dáil.
“At this point in the campaign, I'm deeply disappointed we're talking about my role as a barrister,” she said.
“That is what the campaign has come to, as opposed to standing here and expanding on our vision as two candidates in a presidential election, expanding our vision for the president that we're down to talking about what work I did or didn't do as a professional barrister.
“I think the Bar Council have clearly clarified on more than one occasion, and Fine Gael are still resorting to these tactics."
Fine Gael has been part of the government for a very long time and the housing crisis is a direct result of Government policy, she said.
"It's certainly very, very disappointing. Fine Gael are terrified. I think they're absolutely terrified that the movement that I represent, simply, are a symbol of a new movement for a new republic.
Ms Connolly said Fine Gael should “absolutely” withdraw the remarks, but that was a matter for the party.
When asked if she should have caveated her Dáil speeches to say she worked for banks, Ms Connolly said there was “no connection between the two”.
She still would not directly say if she did work on home repossessions, stating this has been “explained by the Bar Council”. “I'm not free to talk about my work,” she said.
“I'm not going to go into the minutiae of anything but let me say quite a substantial number of barristers, including myself, have done pro bono work over and over and over.”
Meanwhile, in Gorey, Co Wexford, Ms Humphreys stated Fine Gael had asked “legitimate questions” about Ms Connolly’s work.
She stated there is “nothing wrong with being a barrister” but argued that someone “cannot castigate somebody in the city council in Galway, castigate the banks and say that they're criminals and at the same time represent” in home repossessions.
She accused Ms Connolly of “double standards”.
When asked if she was involved in chasing up people who did not pay their debts when she worked in a credit union, Ms Humphreys stated that she had “never evicted anyone from their house” and that “everyone has a duty to make sure people pay their loans”.
She also insisted that she “never stood up in the Dáil” and spoke about the tracker mortgage scandal.
Ms Humphreys also denied suggesting that Ms Connolly had benefited from the misfortune of others, claiming she was saying she had never benefited from the misfortune of others.
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