Higgins Takes Lead As Date Confirmed For Presidential Election

Anyone hoping to become the next President of Ireland has until September 28th to get their name on the ballot paper.

The government has moved the order for the Presidential election, setting October 27th as the date on which voting will take place.

The deadline for securing a nomination is four weeks prior to that - prospective candidates must have the backing of 20 members of the Oireachtas, or four local councils.

There are currently four confirmed candidates, and the Labour Party's Michael D Higgins is racing into the lead according to opinion polls.

He has 32% support, among voters who have made up their mind how they will vote.

That puts him ahead of Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell who is on 24%.

The two Independent candidates are well back, with Mary Davis enjoying 13% support and Sean Gallagher 11%.

But the poll conducted by the Sunday Independent/Millward Brown shows many people are still looking for an 'alternative' to the establishment candidates.

This year's presidential election has been remarkable for the number of high profile figures who have flirted with the idea of contesting the race, only to withdraw before the going got serious.

They include RTE broadcasters Gay Byrne and Micheal O'Muircheartaigh, and New York publisher Niall O'Dowd.

It's also notable for the withdrawal during the summer of Senator David Norris - a frontrunner with a commanding lead at the time - over a clemency he letter in 1997 he wrote in support of his former partner who was convicted of statutory rape.

The latest poll shows him enjoying 18% of first preference votes, despite the fact that he had withdrawn from the campaign for several weeks, while the others were stepping up their efforts.

One in three people polled said they would like to see Norris return to the race despite all that has happened.

In a brief statement, Mr Norris said he was "greatly heartened by and appreciates the continued support being shown to him by the Irish public".

However, he gave no indication that he was considering re-entering the fray.

Singer and former MEP Dana Rosemary Scallon, who unsuccessfully contested the last presidential election, has hinted that she may launch another attempt this year.

Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have ruled out running their own internal candidates in the election, but have left the door open to helping a popular outside candidate to get onto the ballot paper.

For now though, it looks almost certain that the next president will come from inside the political establishment, and from one of the two government parties, despite the public's clear appetite for something different.