Fine Gael presidential hopeful Heather Humphreys has stated that she will not be swayed by opinion polls and that she feels she is resonating with the public.
“Polls will come, and polls will go but the real poll is actually on election day,” she said, reports RTE.
On RTÉ’s News At One, Ms Humphreys further noted that the Government must step up efforts on housing since people are delaying “essential” life decisions.
Ms Humphreys also highlighted her Government record of assisting society’s most vulnerable groups, reports RTE.
Yet, she asserted that the abandoned green paper on disability, which suggested changes to disability payments, was merely a discussion paper.
“It was never my intention to hurt anybody, and that’s why I withdrew it. I think I was the braver person for doing that, because I had a cost of disability report in front of me. I published the green paper with the recommendations of that report in the paper. What I wanted to do was try and increase the payment for people who have more profound disabilities, because we all know it’s more expensive for them to ,” Ms Humphreys said, reports RTE.
During a farm visit this afternoon, Ms Humphreys indicated she is not disheartened by polls showing her behind rival Catherine Connolly.
“Look, I don’t look at polls. I’m around long enough I tell you, the real poll is on election day, and that’s the 24th of October. That’s the poll I’m looking forward to,” reports RTE.
In the meantime, Independent presidential hopeful Catherine Connolly has indicated she will stick to her approach despite today’s opinion poll, which shows her with a substantial advantage over Heather Humphreys.
Addressing reporters this morning, she stated “polls don’t win elections,” and noted her canvassing will persist until next Thursday.
She also noted her campaign has shown drive since the start and pointed to a gap between official narratives and grassroots realities, reports RTE.
The Independent hopeful said “more and more” people are connecting with her campaign and said they were especially keen on a president to echo their concerns, values and vision.
She said her strategy would stay consistent from the beginning, and said she has been out “every single day” engaging with folks.
Asked if the “race was hers to lose”, she said she was going to go out canvassing and continue with her message.
She said, “we’re all short of sleep”, adding that she would continue to do what she started in July, reports RTE.
Ms Connolly made her remarks following a visit to a community group in Belmayne in Dublin.
Ms Connolly was also asked again about her trip to Syria and said she had never supported the Assad regime.
She said it was a fact-finding mission and said it was “absolutely educational” and “deeply upsetting,” and said he had no control over who was beside her.
She also said that she was “absolutely, firmly committed” to the EU, adding that the “rise of the right” poses a serious threat to democracy, and that there was an onus on all politicians to lead and not lead in a vacuum.
She said the first group of people she would invite to the Áras would be the “carers” who she said have been “utterly neglected”.
She also said she disagreed with commentators who, at the start of the campaign, said it was dull, adding that she did not see signs of dullness; rather, she said she saw people coming forward and wanting to be listened to, reports RTE.
Ms Connolly has established a considerable advantage over Ms Humphreys in the presidential election contest, a fresh opinion poll indicates.
The Irish Times Ipsos B&A poll indicates that Ms Connolly is on 38% support with Ms Humphreys on 20%. Jim Gavin, who has withdrawn from the campaign, is on 5%.
The survey of 1,200 voters, taken from Sunday to Tuesday, places Ms Connolly as the clear front runner with just over a week to go to polling.
There are still many people who have not made up their minds, with that figure standing at 18% in this poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8%.
Some 12% of those surveyed indicated that they will not vote while 6% intend to spoil their vote, reports RTE.
This poll also suggests that any second preference votes from Mr Gavin, whose name remains on the ballot paper, will split fairly evenly between Ms Connolly and Ms Humphreys.
67% of those polled believed that Mr Gavin was correct in his decision to quit the campaign, reports RTE.
Voters go to the polls on 24 October.
Meanwhile, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he is supporting Ms Humphreys in the election given that neither himself or Jim Gavin are in the race, reports RTE.
Speaking on Newstalk radio he said he has always found Ms Humphreys to be a kind, considerate and friendly person.
“A person who could do an awful lot of work on reconciliation and rebuilding communities, through her religion and her own involvement. She brings the positive thing of community spirit and understanding,” he said, reports RTE.
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