Presidency must be more than ceremonial office

WHAT a strange republic we have here in Ireland.

The state founders seem to have devised a government system which is, at best, a hybrid.

Depending on the individual who occupies the post our president might be no more than a figurehead.

The office apes that of the modern British monarch, which is in turn an anomalous legacy of the long and convoluted struggle to establish democracy in our neighbouring island.

We have been lucky with President Mary McAleese.

She was the right person in the right place at the right time to oil the wheels of the peace process, which was arguably the greatest problem facing the country when they entered the Áras. We now need to insist that the next president can carry out a similar function to help resolve our current major issue, that of economic recovery.

Voters should measure the candidates on their ability to use the prestige of the presidential office to assist, to the maximum, the sterling efforts of our development agencies in attracting foreign direct investment, and in nurturing indigenous industry here at home.

The presidency, as presently constituted, is a luxury, and we simply cannot afford the cost of a head of state who merely fulfils a ceremonial function.

Above all, there is no justification for making the position a sinecure for someone who has come to the end of a political career in one or other of the houses of the Oireachteas or in the European Parliament.

Seamus McKenna

Farrenboley Park

Dublin 14