He said the past 14 years in office have shown him that Irish people are committed to ‘seeing the ‘other’ as friend’.

The number of people working at Áras an Uachtaráin will rise from 31 to 33 in 2026, resulting in a nine percent increase in wages, salaries and allowances to just over €2.8 million.

All three candidates participated in a debate on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics.

So far, just two candidates have secured enough support to get on the ballot paper.