DAVID NORRIS’S presidential campaign suffered a serious blow last night when three Independent TDs withdrew their pledge to support the Trinity Senator’s nomination.
Dublin TD Finian McGrath said he could no longer support the nomination. Expressing deep regret for his decision, he said “children and the presidency have to come first”. Mr McGrath was the co-ordinator of the campaign to get the backing of 20 Oireachtas members for Mr Norris’s nomination.
Waterford TD John Halligan also announced he was withdrawing his support, as did Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle. “I believe Senator Norris is a decent man and I acknowledge the great work he has done for the less well-off in our society, particularly on civil rights issues,” said Mr Halligan. “However, I feel it was a great error of judgment on his part to write the letter to the Israeli authorities appealing for leniency for Ezra Yitzhak Nawi,” said Mr Halligan.
“The office of the president must be beyond reproach and so, after consulting with my supporters, I have decided it would be inappropriate of me to support his bid for nomination,” he added.
Other members of the Dáil and Seanad who had pledged support for Mr Norris are also considering their position in the light of the disclosure that the Senator wrote a letter pleading for leniency for his former partner, who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.
Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell told The Irish Timesyesterday that she had a lengthy conversation with Mr Norris and had "made him aware what I feel about the situation". Senator Mary Ann O'Brien is also considering her position.
Five of Mr Norris’s 14 Oireachtas backers have reiterated their pledge to nominate but another five have not said how they will respond. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a number of letters written by Mr Norris on behalf of Mr Nawi have not come into the public domain. Ex-campaign workers said he wrote letters appealing for clemency for Mr Nawi to a range of public figures in Israel and beyond. After they were shown the letters last Thursday a number of Mr Norris’s campaign team resigned.
