Sir, – How often has the practice of not voting on the actual subject matter of a referendum in favour of giving the Government a "bloody nose" rightly been criticised? And yet here we have Colum Kenny ("Why we should vote against lowering the age of candidates eligible to become President", Opinion & Analysis, February 5th) imploring young voters that "They should vote No, if only to express their frustration at their current economic conditions."
What has the age threshold for becoming President got to do with current economic conditions, “jobs, real wages, rent control, mortgages, proper healthcare and pensions” or “young people moving abroad“? Why doesn’t he implore young voters to vote No because of the inclement weather in this country while he’s at it?
Some of the other arguments Prof Kenny proffers in support of a No vote are equally dubious, not least his contention that any candidate aged between 21 and 35 would be more likely than others to be a creature of a political party, chosen and funded as a gimmick to appeal to young people. Not only is this bald assertion not backed up by any evidence, but one could easily argue the opposite. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – It is a strange constitutional quirk whereby nobody under the age of 35 can run for president in a country which has seen a number of ministers (Leo Varadkar, Simon Harris, Lucinda Creighton, et al) holding important portfolios in recent years while being under that age.
Furthermore, the historical foundations of the State were driven by a good number of young political personalities and in that sense the original introduction of the age barrier essentially represented a paean to the US democratic system more than a response to particular Irish political requirements. – Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNEDY,
Goatstown,
Dublin 14.
A chara, – Maolsheachlann Ó Ceallaigh's remarks (February 6th) concerning the near god-like deference given to the to the opinions of social scientists these days are of particular interest in the light of Prof William Reville's article ("Why are so many social scientists left-liberal?", February 5th), in which he points out that the vast majority of academics in this area have a very uniform political outlook, which can be problematic regarding their research "in areas relating to the political concerns of the left".
This suggests to me that there are occasions on which their findings may need to be taken with a large pinch of salt, especially when they are used to underpin arguments for controversial social change. – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.
Sir, – I’m all in favour of a 21-year-old president – provided the music is not too loud and parties end at midnight. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BYRNE,
Dublin 6W.