Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has described the former employee of hers that was jailed by the Special Criminal Court as a “wonderful woman”.
Ms Connolly was quizzed by media on a number of issues while she visited Cavan and Monaghan today.
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill was also in Monaghan to support Independent candidate Catherine Connolly.
Ms Connolly described the woman that she employed for six months in the Dail as a wonderful woman and said she was a wonderful example of rehabilitation of the prison system working.
She said we have overcrowded prisons with people in prison that shouldn't be in there and we have women in prison that shouldn't be there.
She said this was a challenge for our society to reflect on imprisonment and whether it's serving its purpose.
She told reporters in Monaghan that she has never refused a question but had this to say when the question was put to her about giving the woman who served a sentence for gun crime a job in the future if elected to be the next President.
