The Government would not oppose a second reading for a Fine Gael private member's Bill to allow 20,000 electors to nominate a presidential candidate, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, announced in the Dail yesterday. The Bill will now go to a Dail committee.
Ms O'Donnell referred to an opinion poll published in The Irish Times which had shown a slight majority opposed to any change in the present system of nominations, although the difference was not significant when account was taken of the margin of error in an opinion poll. On this basis it would be a mistake to assume that public support for a change in the nomination procedures was a foregone conclusion, she said.