The former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, has indicated he will press on for the Presidency regardless of whether Mr John Hume enters the race or not. Speaking in Belfast on Saturday, Mr Reynolds said: "What other people do is their business. My name was there, maybe unconfirmed, for the last two months. It was there for a long time back. It is not news to anybody."
Asked if he would consider withdrawing if Mr Hume put his name forward, Mr Reynolds said: "Nominations are a matter for the political parties, and that's the way it is going to be."
Mr Reynolds confirmed he had written to all members of his parliamentary party at the weekend saying he would be seeking the Fianna Fail nomination. He also made it clear that he would not favour an agreed candidate. "The people have made it very clear that they want to have a say in who the next President is going to be. They are entitled to that, and I'm quite happy with that."
He said he would not like to comment on what way Mr Hume's "deliberations or considerations should go. It is purely a personal matter for John. He will make up his mind in due course and I am sure he will do what he feels is right."
Mr Reynolds said many of his party colleagues had urged him to confirm whether he would be standing or not. He said he had been "encouraged" by the amount of support he had received around the country. "I've certainly been encouraged by the leading position in the three independently conducted polls that I have, and I've plenty of support in the Fianna Fail party."
Mr Reynolds said he wanted to become President primarily because he believed he could "do a good job". He rejected suggestions that the circumstances of his departure from government would damage his chances. "I think the Irish people over the last couple of years have made up their minds as to what the circumstances were, and it's a dead issue as far as I am concerned."
Mr Reynolds was speaking after delivering a memorial lecture in honour of the civil rights lawyer, Mr Paddy McGrory, who died in 1994, in which he addressed the issue of protecting civil and human rights. Mr Reynolds rejected suggestions that he could not be as neutral on Northern Ireland as Mrs Mary Robinson had been.
"I would not say that I don't feel neutral. I'm trying to right injustices and wrong and look for a fair deal for everybody. That's my view. If you come down too heavily, too much on one side or the other, you won't make real progress on Northern Ireland. . . But the Presidency is a non-political role and the Constitution defines the parameters of it."
He said it would be presumptuous of him to say what his approach on Northern Ireland would be ahead of gaining the Fianna Fail nomination. "When all the candidates are in the field, then I will say what my views are."
Mr Reynolds also said he would not be opposed to the idea of expanding the President's role.