Former presidential hopeful Gareth Sheridan has said that the presidential nomination process is not fit for purpose and needs to be looked at.
Speaking on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor radio programme, he spoke about presenting to councillors at county councils across the country trying to seek a nomination.
He said that Fianna Fáil councillors were more secretive in how they applied a block of independent candidates set out by the party.
"It definitely happened, I can say that".
Mr Sheridan said that it was "a dangerous position" to be in that candidates in future elections may only come from party ranks.
The entrepreneur, who put himself forward to be an independent candidate in the Presidential Election but did not secure a nomination, said it has been 50 years since there was only two candidates to choose from in a presidential election.
"The electorate deserve to have a wider choice of candidates" and the position of president is for the people of Ireland to decide.
"It shouldn’t be dictated just from within the walls of Leinster House. That’s an unfortunate outcome in this election".
"I’d love to be in. I was wholeheartedly involved and had put a year into it, I had been meeting and building those relationships.
"I was competing to compete and I just think it’s a little bit underwhelming now that we only have two candidates," he said.
Mr Sheridan said that he's "not bitter" about not getting to run for president, but that he found it "troubling" facing personal attacks online during his brief campaign.
He said that he expected scrutiny and was prepared for that, but the online level of smearing and attacks were tough. He said that there were personal attacks on X, targeting family members such as his three-year-old daughter.
He said that there were multiple bot accounts with no followers that were recently set up that were used for posts, and he said that there needs to be tougher regulation in this area.
He added that it was a troubling part of the process that needs to be more highly regulated.
On his future in politics, he said he was keeping his options open and did not know yet whether he would run for a party in national or local politics.
Mr Sheridan said that he had not been directly approached by any parties.
"It would be difficult to face such a block, and then go represent the same party that blocked.
"I'm open to everything and I’m not bitter about it," he said.
He said that he would "love to be in" the running as head of State and in his opinion, the campaign so far has been "underwhelming".
He said that Fianna Fáil's selection of Jim Gavin as its candidate seemed a bit "messy" and "all over the place".
Read more: Substantial lead for Connolly in Áras race, poll suggests
Presidential Election candidates Independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys will join David McCullagh for a Presidential Debate on This Week on RTÉ Radio 1 from 1pm.
The programme will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio One and on the RTÉ News Channel.
