Dana campaign: Two local authorities will, on Monday, consider a request from Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon for support for a nomination to stand in the presidential election.
A third county council will discuss the issue but without making a final decision.
In Kerry an independent member of the county council, Mr Brendan Cronin, is expected to propose a motion backing Ms Scallon's bid for a nomination.
Kerry County Council, which backed Ms Scallon for a nomination to run in the 1997 presidential election, said yesterday that the issue was formally on the agenda for the meeting on Monday.
In Kilkenny, members of the county council will consider Ms Scallon's request for a nomination as a special item at its monthly meeting on Monday.
Councillors in Longford will also consider the request from Ms Scallon for support for a nomination when they meet on Monday.
However, Longford County Council told The Irish Times yesterday that the issue would be a matter for discussion rather than decision on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Longford County Council said that the request from Ms Scallon had not arrived in time to provide councillors with the required three day's advance notice. Councillors in Longford could decide to hold a special meeting later in the month to decide on whether to nominate Ms Scallon.
Ms Scallon must receive nominations from four local authorities by the end of the month if she is to run in the election.
A spokesman for Ms Scallon told The Irish Times last night that she would consider the alternative route of seeking Oireachtas members to sign her nomination papers if the Green Party decided not to back the candidature of its Dublin deputy, Mr Eamon Ryan.
A spokesman for Ms Scallon said that, under the Constitution, Oireachtas members could only sign the nomination papers of one candidate and that her campaign would not go down that road if Mr Ryan was still in the race.
The Dana campaign also revealed last night that it had considered - but made no decision on - a legal challenge to the timing of the signing by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, of the official order for the election.
Local authorities could not nominate candidates for the election before the official order was signed last week. However, the Dana campaign has alleged that the timing of the order meant that a number of local authorities had already held their September meetings and would not be able to consider the nomination of a candidate before the Government's deadline of October 1st.
A spokesman for Ms Scallon said that this infringed the constitutional rights of these local authorities.
