Gareth Sheridan has launched his bid for the presidency, saying he does not want to "sit back idle when I see a situation that I could have an impact on."

35-year-old Sheridan has announced his candidacy ahead of the election later this year. He is the founder and former CEO of Nutriband and he will be the youngest candidate to ever run for presidency in this country. 

He joined Ciara Kelly on Newstalk Breakfast to emphasise why he would be a good candidate for the role. 

“This is something that I’ve been working on for well over a year, and I’ve been meeting with councillors face-to-face since the beginning of this year.

“It’s not something I’ve been taking lightly, and I’ve been explaining to them my values and visions that I think are perfectly fitting for the next president of Ireland."

Gareth Sheridan

Gareth Sheridan in the Newstalk studio

Mr. Sheridan outlined his main priorities for his presidency, should he win the vote.

“We’re in a situation where the country has become so divided, and I think there’s an overwhelming sense of division as there is a feeling of under-representation for a whole segment of the population.

"[That segment] is people under the age of 40 that are condemned to a life of exorbitant rents or emigration.” 

However, he says that young people are not his only priority.

“While I want to be a voice for the younger generation, I want to be representative of everybody because it’s very concerning that we have a situation now where grandparents only get to see their grandkids grow up through an iPad in Australia as FaceTime has replaced face-to-face time.” 

Mr. Sheridan was questioned about his ability to implement change from a presidential point of view rather than a legislative position. 

“It is an influential role—the president is the protector of the constitution” he says. 

Mr. Sheridan also stressed his role in the race as an independent candidate that is not attached to any political party. 

 “I’m not a politician, and I think that’s vitally important for the role of president.

"I think the position of president should be independent of politics and party politics in particular - so I think that’s a strength in my campaign." 

Holding dual citizenship, he spent 7 years in America building his €80 million company Nutriband. He has been back in Ireland full-time since February of this year. 

“I stepped aside as founder and CEO of the company, and I hope that that is taken seriously,” he says. 

"It’s not in my personality to sit back idle when I see a situation that I could have an impact on and that’s why I’m running this year."

Written by Cara McHugh