Dana dismisses poll showing

Independent presidential candidate Dana Rosemary Scallon has dismissed her poor showing in recent opinion polls, saying that what matters is at the voting booth when “people walk in and cast their votes".

Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning, Ms Scallon said she has “never been anywhere but the bottom of the polls” going into an election but has a better record at the voting booth.

Ms Scallon told Morning Ireland that a "huge percentage of people" have not yet made up their mind and said she has been encouraged by the support she has met on the ground.

“There’s never a vote wasted when you vote for me,” she said.

“When I went into the European election, they said I would lose my deposits. The polls are there as a snapshot in time. And, we still have a week-and-a-half to go and, as they say: a week is a long time in politics," she said.

Ms Scallon said the role of the presidency was about bringing “a sense of hope” to people. She said people feel “helpless” knowing that more cuts and taxes are coming and if elected, she said she would listen to them

“Economically of course we need to have the people given support. They know that next year we’re going to have to pay €11 billion into a European Stability Fund. They know that’s going to mean more cuts and more difficulty. And they know [that] you can’t take blood from a stone.”

Ms Scallon said the focus should be on families.

“If we’re going to have a country that our people can come back to you must take account of the families here," she said. “Our daughter emigrated; our son can’t find work here. We are just a reflection of families throughout the country.”

The Eurovision winner  said emigrants were taking their “abilities and their strengths” to other countries. “We want them here. The only way we can do that is to make sure that people can live here with investment," she added.

Ms Scallon made no mention this morning of t6he controversy which surfaced last week involving her family.

On Friday, her sister, Susan Stein, said she and her husband stood over the evidence he gave to a court in Iowa that John Brown, Dana's brother, had sexually abused the Steins' daughter.

Mr Brown denied the accusation during the US case and Ms Scallon has described it as "vile" and "malicious".

Ms Stein's statement came two days after Ms Scallon referred on a Prime Time presidential debate to "vile and false" allegations which were being made against a member of her family.