Independent senator and businessman Aubrey McCarthy has expressed an interest in a possible bid to become president.
Mr McCarthy said he has been contacted by a number of people who have asked him to consider entering the race for Áras an Uachtaráin.
He said he is “absolutely flattered to be even considered for such a role” and it is “early days” in terms of a final decision to run.
“It’s a case of listening to the soundings, listening to what people are saying,” he said.
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“If people felt I had a genuine opportunity and that I could make a difference I would have to be mad not to consider it.”
The election is due to be held in October after the end of outgoing President Michael D Higgins’s second seven-year term.
Candidates need nominations from four city or county councils or at least 20 Oireachtas members to get on the ballot paper.
Mr McCarthy, the co-founder of homelessness and addiction support organisation Tiglin, said that some of those who have contacted him about running for the presidency are local authority councillors.
The businessman, who has a furniture store and cafe in Naas as well as a removals and storage company, was first elected to the Seanad this year for the University of Dublin constituency.
Involved in The Light House, a cafe and service for homeless people, Mr McCarthy said he believes his “experience in advocacy” resonated with Seanad voters.
He added: “I know certainly in the race for the Áras you’d certainly be looking for a candidate with focus on social justice and inclusion and I have a history of that.”
Mr McCarthy is the latest person to be revealed to be considering a run for the presidency.
Earlier this month, Independent senator Frances Black said she had been approached by a number of parties about running in the presidential election. She said she would be “open to the conversations”.
Ms Black is a singer who had a high national profile before she was elected to the Seanad in 2016. She brought the Occupied Territories Bill before the Oireachtas.
David Hall, another businessman and prominent campaigner for mortgage holders in distress, is also considering a potential run.
The only person to confirm their intention to contest the election is Donegal businessman and former Dragons’ Den panellist Peter Casey.
He came second to Mr Higgins in 2018 and has run unsuccessfully in other elections since.
Mr Casey plans to seek local authorities’ nominations to get on the ballot paper.
Controversial MMA fighter Conor McGregor has also suggested he will contest the election though there is considerable doubt as to whether he could secure the required nominations.
Names mentioned as possible candidates for Fianna Fáil include MEPs Barry Andrews and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has been coy on any presidential ambitions though he would likely face intense scrutiny over this experience with the planning tribunal and the economic crash should he seek to run.
For Fine Gael, former European commissioner Mairéad McGuinness, former tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald and former senior minister Heather Humphreys have all been mentioned in relation to possible presidential bids.
Fine Gael MEP and former GAA president Seán Kelly has spoken of how he is considering an Áras run.
There have been talks among left-wing parties including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats on a possible common candidate.
Names linked to a potential candidacy include Ms Black, SDLP MP Claire Hanna and Independent TD Catherine Connolly.
