President pledges to choose words ‘with extreme caution’

President Michael D Higgins has admitted he must be “extremely careful” about choosing his words after several of his remarks in public sparked controversy.

His comments about Government plans to ratify the EU fiscal treaty, as well as remarks expressing opposition to the privatisation of state assets, are said to have alarmed ministers.

Speaking at the Irish Hotels Federation annual conference in Kilkenny, he said — in a quasi-joking manner — that he had to be careful about what he said off script or to journalists.

“I have to be extremely careful about my departures from script due to the sensitivities of, not those that matter, but those that chatter.”

He recently said, ahead of advice to the Cabinet on the need for a referendum, that if there was no vote on the fiscal compact he may refer any legislation on the issue to the Council of State.

There was also talk of alarm in Labour after President Higgins expressed opposition to privatisation in the week the Government announced the sell-off of stakes in semi-state companies.

One Fine Gael minister yesterday refused to address the concerns about Mr Higgins’ public remarks. However, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar did hint that other politicians had faced trouble after openly criticising comments by a president.

“I would never do anything that could ever possibly be misconstrued as misrepresenting the President. I believe a certain Fine Gael minister nearly lost his head over that.”

It is understood that Mr Varadkar was referring to the late FG defence minister Paddy Donegan, who previously called the late president Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh a “thundering disgrace”, a remark which eventually led to Ó Dálaigh’s resignation.

President Ó Dálaigh had refused to sign the Emergency Powers Act 1976, instead using his powers under the Constitution to refer the issue to the Supreme Court.

President Higgins yesterday also described to delegates at the conference how he had worked during his college years in the hotel industry in England in the 1960s.

“I moved from serving drinks all the way through, I have to tell ye, to full silver service and I have a bogus reference that describes me as a wine waiter.”