Some of the Oireachtas members who had pledged their support to Senator David Norris's presidential campaign are considering whether to proceed with their backing.
Five of the 14 TDs and Senators have so far re-iterated their support for Senator Norris while four suggested they would decide over the coming days.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the Senator wrote a letter to the Israeli authorities pleading for clemency for his ex-partner who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.
Mr Norris has said he will continue to seek a presidential nomination, but has admitted his chances of getting a nomination are now ‘slim’.
Senator Sean Barrett has said the controversy surrounding a letter Mr Norris wrote to an Israeli court would make it extremely difficult for him to get on the ballot paper for the presidential election.
Mr Norris has secured 15 out of 20 Oireachtas member nominations, but speaking on Today FM, Senator Barrett said he did not know where the missing five people would come from.
However, he said it was still possible for Mr Norris to become a candidate for the contest on 27 October.
Dr Barrett said he did not think such a letter should have been written.
The letter, which was released to the Sunday Independent, was written on Seanad notepaper and in it Senator Norris pleads for clemency for his former partner Ezra Yizhak, who was awaiting sentence for the statutory rape of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in Israel in 1992.
In it he described Mr Yizhak as a trustworthy, good and moral person for whom the present difficulty was quite uncharacteristic.
He said he had been lured into a carefully prepared trap,
and had unwisely pleaded guilty to the charges.
A number of people on Mr Norris's campaign team have resigned, including his directors of elections, communications as well as people working on his online campaign.
Mr Norris told the Sunday Independent he remains ‘absolutely committed’ to his campaign, which he said was now ‘in serious trouble’.
Meanwhile, Independent Senator John Crown has said he will continue to give his backing to Senator Norris.
Speaking to RTÉ, Senator Crown said the electorate should be able to decide whether Mr Norris should be President.
He said what has emerged over the last few days has concerned him, and said he believes David Norris will persist to rebuild his campaign.
Independent TD Maureen O'Sullivan has also said she will continue to give Mr Norris her backing.
Deputy Stephen Donnelly has said he will continue his support of Mr Norris on the basis that it was not democratic for members of the Oireachtas to block the candidacy of any person for the presidential election.
Mr Donnelly said while it is appropriate for members of the Oireachtas to use official paper to draw attention to possible breaches of due process, it was wrong for Senator Norris to do so due to the highly personal nature of his relationship with Mr Yizhak.
Independent Deputy Finian McGrath has not declared yet whether he will continue to support Senator Norris.
He said that Mr Norris rang him last night and gave a detailed report of his side of the story and he was going through the detail of the letters and discussing them with his election workers.
Deputy McGrath said he would give a detailed response in the coming days and will be speaking with Senator Norris again.
A number of other TDs and senators have either not commented on the issue or say they will make a decision in the coming days.
