Letters

The race for the Park

Madam, – The upcoming constitutional convention in Ireland should consider changing the law to allow those under the age of …

Fri Jun 10 2011 - 01:00

Madam, – The upcoming constitutional convention in Ireland should consider changing the law to allow those under the age of 35 to seek the Irish presidency.

A French citizen need only be at least 23 years of age to run for the Elysée, so why should a 23-year-old Irish citizen be precluded from running for the Áras? – Yours, etc,

KEVIN JAMES O’MAHONY,

Santa Palmia Blvd,

San Jose, California, US.

Madam, – FJ Fitzsimons (June 8th) suggests converting the presidency into an honorary office. Whatever the merits of such an action, there is, of course, no legal problem with doing so before the new occupant of the Áras takes up residence. On the other hand, there remains a constitutional bar (Article 12.11.3) to reducing the entitlements of the President once he or she has assumed office, as there is with the judiciary. Therefore, given that the Government intends holding a judicial pay referendum, will it also put a presidential pay referendum before the people? Surely consistency demands it. – Yours, etc,

CATHAL MALONE,

Hillcrest,

Carrigaline,

Co Cork.

Madam, – It is disturbing that some political parties seem likely, by internal choice, to eliminate good candidates for the presidential election (so that the party nominates only one), thereby depriving the electorate of the opportunity to consider those candidates. The spirit of political parties and local authorities fulfilling their constitutional role in the presidential election should be purely to nominate, or seek out and nominate, credible candidates (not limited to one per party) and leave the rest to the country’s voters. A nominator should not be blamed, nor feel it has lost, if a candidate it puts forward is not elected. The process of filling a post which is non-political should be entirely non-political. – Yours, etc,

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JOHN K BROWNLEE,

De Vesci Court,

Dún Laoghaire,

Co Dublin.

David Norris, for his part, has conducted himself throughout the hysterical outcry of recent weeks with a statesmanlike air that his characteristic of his 35 years in public life. Like so many others, I admire both candidates and relish the prospect of watching two front-runners of integrity and intellect, and with proven track records in public service, compete for the privilege of representing Ireland at the highest level. They stand in stark contrast to Mr Moran’s proposed candidate, Declan Ganley, a man whose half-truths and scaremongering was thankfully rejected by the people of Connacht-Ulster on the only occasion on which he ran for public office. – Is mise,

NIGEL SMITH,

College of Europe,

Sint Jorisstraat,

Bruges,

Belgium.

A chara, – Shame on David Honan (June 8th) for trying to link the recent publicity around David Norris’s

Magill

interview and Pat Cox’s presidential campaign. The short odds offered by Paddy Power for Pat Cox are no “strange contemporaneous coincidence” as Mr Moran suggests; he has been mooted as a potential candidate for months (eg “Cox takes soundings over Áras prospects”, May 11th). Furthermore, rather than appearing “out of the woodwork”, he has been developing a relationship with Fine Gael for some time, even acting as an adviser to the party in the recent coalition negotiations.