All three Presidential Election candidates have said they would like to see a united Ireland in the future, when questioned while out on the campaign trail across the country.

Campaigning in the Presidential Election is continuing with the candidates pitching their electoral messages in Dublin and Cork.

Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate Jim Gavin has said that as a constitutional republican, a united Ireland would be about “unification of people first and territory second”.

Mr Gavin is on the election trail in west Dublin ahead of his official campaign launch in the city tomorrow.

He said he was very proud of the Constitution and what it speaks to about a united Ireland.

He added that the president could play a positive role, but that unification would be a matter for governments.

He said: “I believe in a united Ireland, but I also believe in what the Constitution speaks to in terms of a democratic, peaceful process.”

He said if elected he would be active in the border counties and in the north of Ireland, “meeting communities, building on the great work of the one of the leaders that I admire the most, President McAleese, and the work that President McAleese did in the north in terms of building bridges between communities”.

He said his role as president, if elected, would be to meet both communities in the north and to build on President McAleese’s work, as well as forging new connections and repairing ones that might be broken.

Irish citizens in Northern Ireland should have vote in election – Humphreys

Meanwhile, presidential candidate Heather Humphreys has said she supports giving Irish citizens in Northern Ireland a vote in presidential elections.

Ms Humphreys, who is campaigning in Cork, has previously said she wants to see a united Ireland based on the Good Friday Agreement. But this must be done through building trust and demonstrating that this is an inclusive country, she said.

“I have spoken to many and they have said they would like a vote,” she said on Irish citizens in Northern Ireland being permitted to vote in future Presidential Elections.

She said it would be a matter for the government of the day, and would require a referendum to extend the franchise.

“I know many people in Northern Ireland and I’d be fairly confident that I would get a fair share of their vote in Northern Ireland if they did have one,” she said.

“I think that’s something that we have to do, we have to work on it. It does involve a referendum to extend the franchise, and if we want a united Ireland at some stage down the road, I think it’s important that Northern Ireland citizens should have a vote.”

Always believed in a united Ireland – Connolly

While presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has told a Sinn Féin conference on Irish unity at Dublin City University (DCU) this afternoon that she has always believed in a united Ireland.

As far back as 2020 she has expressed this view but said it must happen by consent.

Ms Connolly told over 500 delegates present that it is a foregone conclusion that it is going to happen, and preparations are needed to show that this is a place that can embrace diversity.

She promised to give voice to the will of the Irish people on this issue if elected president.

She said that people must take courage in their hands and shape a new republic that provides housing and health services for its people.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who was present at the conference, said the time to plan for constitutional change is now and partition is on borrowed time.

She called on party members to knock on every door with optimism as they campaign for Ms Connolly.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order that will see asylum seekers and their families offered up to €10,000 to drop their claim for International Protection.

The increased voluntary return grant will apply to those who sought asylum in Ireland before 28 September and who are awaiting a decision on their status.

Under the voluntary return programme, asylum seekers can receive financial support to return to their home country if they do not have permission to remain in Ireland.

The Department of Justice has said that an increased “reintegration allowance” for people earlier in the asylum seeking process has been introduced in order to reduce pressure on the system.

The department says that as of 19 September last, 1,159 people left Ireland by way of voluntary return so far this year, an increase of 129% compared to the same period in 2024.

In terms of the current grant allowance under the voluntary return programme, up to €1,200 is offered per person and €2,000 for a family.

Under the increased rates, this would rise to €2,500 per person and a maximum of €10,000 for a family.

It is available to people in the asylum system before 28 September and who are awaiting a decision on their status.

Voluntary return is open to people who have no legal status in Ireland, who have withdrawn their application for international protection or who have had it refused.

It is not offered to people who have been convicted of a serious crime.

Speaking to reporters in Carlow, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: “We know that deportations do play an important role in relation to having a fair and efficient migration system in place.

“But it is also costly, it also takes a lot of time to actually make them happen and I understand what Minister O’Callaghan is doing is looking at other ways in which we could ensure that those who will be leaving Ireland at some point in the future do so in a more timely and more efficient way.”

At 9.10am on last August 12th, an angler made a call to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report a large number of dead and ailing fish on the Blackwater river close to Mallow, Co Cork.

Almost simultaneously, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) also contacted the agency to raise the alert.

The EPA dispatched inspectors to three sites on the river within the hour, kick-starting an investigation that would ultimately involve multiple government departments, public bodies and scientific, environmental and health agencies.

But it was too late. Around 42,000 fish were dead or dying. Already the trail that might have led to the cause had gone cold.

The distress that the deaths of so many fish, mostly highly valued salmon and trout, caused among anglers, environmentalists and the wider community has turned to anger and frustration since.

It seems improbable that a multi-agency investigation with experienced personnel, good local knowledge and access to sophisticated laboratory services has been unable to pinpoint the cause of death.

Yet that is the conclusion of the final report on the incident published on Thursday evening.

[ ‘We took out 450 fish in an hour’: Blackwater pollution highlights decade of poor environmental compliance ]

“The pollutant or the source that caused the fish mortalities has not been identified,” it says.

Tom Ryan, EPA director of enforcement, said afterwards: “Nobody wants to see what happened here.

“This is a terrible, devastating event in a protected water and it is intolerable.

“If we could find the culprit for this, if it’s in our jurisdiction, we certainly would be holding them to account.”

The “culprit”, he believes, could be “something one-off, possible sinister or criminal in nature – or reckless”.

He was thinking of something dumped, washed out or allowed to spill into the river. It was fast-acting and, unfortunately for testers, equally fast to disappear.

The chances of identifying it were already slim when the investigation began.

Marine Institute analysis points to the fish encountering some sort of pollutant on August 5th or 6th – yet no testing of water, fish or potential industrial or wastewater pollution sources was organised before August 12th.

Dead fish were spotted on August 9th, but Inland Fisheries Ireland, the EPA, Uisce Éireann and Cork County Council say they were only notified between August 11th-12th.

There is no single point of contact for a member of the public to call so all relevant agencies can hear and respond.

“Can all these arrangements be improved? Can we learn from this? Of course,” Dr Ryan said. “But reaction is one thing, prevention is what’s key.”

Responsibility for pollution prevention resides in different jurisdictions, however.

The EPA licences large industries and wastewater facilities and polices the pollution they can legally undertake.

County councils permit smaller businesses and are responsible for farm inspections.

Water quality monitoring comes under multiple agencies. Enforcement of standards and regulations is convoluted.

Several licensed operators were non-compliant at the time of the fish kill, including repeat offender, North Cork Creameries, although their breaches were found not to have caused the incident.

Dr Elaine McGoff of the Sustainable Water Network said a shake-up in regulatory authorities was needed.

“There should at least be a 24-hour emergency hotline that gets inspectors on the ground immediately something happens,” she said. “Some big polluter is out there breathing a big sigh of relief.”

Bob Seward of the Angling Council of Ireland said the final report could not be last word on the issue.

“It’s not finished as far as we are concerned. There needs to be lessons learned. There needs to be an evaluation of the processes – for protection and response. This is fire brigade stuff.”