IAA's Declan Fitzpatrick among those to publicly support former Dublin manager in Áras run The aviation regulator has refused to comment on whether its chief ­executive, Declan Fitzpatrick, was speaking in a personal capacity when he endorsed Jim Gavin for the presidential election. A number of high-ranking executives in semi-state agencies have broken with the tradition of staying out of party politics and publicly backed Mr Gavin's campaign.
Peter Power, the executive director of Unicef Ireland, has been involved in confidential talks with Fianna Fáil's leadership, suggesting he may be a potential candidate for the upcoming presidential election.