Presidential nominations ‘too easy’

IT SHOULD be made more difficult for candidates to be nominated for presidential election, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil yesterday.

Despite widespread calls for the presidential nominations process to be simplified, Mr Ahern said he saw no problem with the current system, which requires a prospective candidate to receive 20 Oireachtas or four county council nominations.

His comments fly in the face of recommendations put forward by the all-party committee on the Constitution, which found nomination procedures should be made easier to encourage more participation.

Ruling out any referendum to change the criteria, Mr Ahern said he was satisfied that the current eligibility requirements were adequate.

“Given the nature of the responsibility of the position, I don’t believe that it is unreasonable that candidates be asked to show a very modest degree of support from elected representatives and I’m satisfied that it’s possible for a substantial number of candidates to be put forward,” he said.

Instead of reducing restrictions, Mr Ahern said he would actually favour making it tougher for candidates to run.

“To be frank, the last time I felt - and it’s a personal opinion rather than a Government one - it was actually too easy to be running. If you were to press me personally I’d say I’d toughen it rather than the other way.”

The Taoiseach’s comments contrast sharply with the five-year-old report on presidential reform by the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which found nomination restrictions should be eased.

The committee recommended that just 10 Oireachtas, two county councils, or 10,000 public signatures should be enough for a presidential nomination.

Asking whether the Government planned any referendums in the coming year, Mr Ahern said there were no immediate plans but that a vote on the new EU Constitution would likely be put to the people next year.