Overview

• A Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll released ahead of the debate put Catherine Connolly on 32%, Heather Humphreys on 23% and Jim Gavin on 15%, or 46%/33%/21% when undecided voters are excluded.
• Under questioning, Gavin said he is looking into whether he owes a former tenant more than €3,000 from a 16‑year‑old dispute and confirmed the property was not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board at the time.
• Connolly defended hiring a former prisoner to work with her in 2018, calling it a rehabilitation success and noting vetting was never completed while the woman was signed in daily, a practice her rivals said bypassed security standards.
• Humphreys rejected claims from former transport minister Shane Ross that she opposed drink‑driving reforms at Cabinet, saying she did not oppose the measures and voted for the legislation.
• On policy, Connolly said she would like a consent‑based unity referendum during her tenure, Gavin questioned whether the time is right and urged deeper engagement with Northern Ireland, foreign policy exchanges grew heated over Russia and Gaza, and RTÉ analysis found Humphreys’ performance improved as Gavin’s tenant response was likely damaging and Connolly avoided a knockout blow.