Heather Humphreys calls on Fianna Fáil supporters to lend her their vote

The presidential candidate also insisted she did push back on covid restrictions when she was a cabinet minister

Presidential candidate Heather Humphreys is greeted by supporter Tim McCarthy during campaigning in Cork. Ms Humphreys spent little time meeting the public. Photo: Noel Sweeney/PA

Fine Gael's presidential election candidate Heather Humphreys has called on Fianna Fáil supporters to “lend her a vote”.

As polling day on Friday draws ever closer, candidates are racking up the miles trying to secure last-minute votes.

Ms Humphreys was in Cork and Clare on Wednesday, attending several events. However, she spent little time meeting the public, and a walkaround in Ennis, Co Clare, was called off due to time constraints.

The Irish Times polls last week showed Ms Humphreys trailing 18 points behind Ms Connolly. In a bid to garner additional votes, the Fine Gael candidate has now asked Fianna Fáil voters to vote for Jim Gavin, who has withdrawn from the race, number one if they wish, but to give her their number two.

Speaking to reporters at the Republic of Work in Cork City, Ms Humphreys said she was “asking people in the centre ground to please come out and vote”. “I'm delighted to be in Cork here too, because the Taoiseach of the country [Micheál Martin] has said he's going to vote for me,” she said.

“Many prominent Fianna Fáil TDs and ministers have said they're going to support me. They're going to vote for me. Billy Kelleher, who's from Cork, said he was going to vote. I'm asking those Fianna Fáil supporters to please come out and lend me their vote.

For those people that want to vote number one for Jim Gavin, I understand that. Please give me the two.

“I'm very positive. I really am. There's people from the Labour Party supporting me, from the Green Party supporting me, and indeed, independents. There's a broad range of support there. The most important thing is that people come out on Friday and exercise their vote.”

When the Irish Examiner put it to Ms Humphreys that if she is encouraging people to vote number one for Mr Gavin and two for her, she may not get his votes if the gap between her and Ms Connolly is very large and the votes were not redistributed. She admitted that was a possibility.

“That is very true, but I'm saying to you now, there are some people who feel that they want to vote number one for Fianna Fáil,” she added. “I'm saying to them, please give me the number two.

“I'm looking for the number ones, because at the end of the day, if I don't get a enough number one votes, I will not get elected.”

Covid measures

Elsewhere, Ms Humphreys insisted she did push back on covid restrictions when she was a cabinet minister. This, she said, involved concerns about funeral numbers and the number of people allowed to stand outside a church.

“We did have discussions with the medics at the time, but the advice we were getting was very strong that this couldn't happen,” Ms Humphreys said.

“I feel bad that we didn't try and find a way around it so that people could hold the hand of their dying relative, and it's something that has stuck with me since that time.

“As I said, we were all taking the medical advice, and people couldn't, didn't want to take the risks, but I just find on a humane level, I think we could have done something more in that regard.”