Jan 27 2009

Why Do We Have A President?

Published by at 8:00 am under Blog,Politics

Mary McAleeseWhy do we have a President? Really! I know that McAleese (and the other Mary before her) do a lot of charitable work and such and certainly raise the profile of Ireland abroad, but apart from acting as a figurehead of sorts, what’s involved in the role? There are certain legal aspect to it such as signing off on Bills and having vetoes, but do we need a President for this?

 

From what I understand, the last time the presidency was up for grabs, no one even contested it and Mary McAleese was returned by default. Surely that alone has to be an indication that in has become an irrelevant institution. Any thoughts?

 

15 responses so far

15 Responses to “Why Do We Have A President?”

  1. # elly parkeron 27 Jan 2009 at 10:05 am

    Yes, one thought. In 2018, I should run for president. I’ll be old enough by then.

  2. # Darrenon 27 Jan 2009 at 11:45 am

    I’ll vote for you! 😀

  3. # Peteron 27 Jan 2009 at 2:18 pm

    I have no thoughts on this

    😉

  4. # Lottieon 27 Jan 2009 at 4:29 pm

    The S26 Function (where she can refer a bill to the Supreme Court) is very important – there need to be an independent buffer for certain legislation.

    Her only other function other than that is as an ambassador and it probably costs about the same for both.

  5. # Peteron 27 Jan 2009 at 7:16 pm

    Looks to me like we could easily get a blogger into the áras as the next president if we tried! 😛

  6. # Ianon 27 Jan 2009 at 8:20 pm

    I don’t really see any fuction to be honest, when is her term of office up ?

  7. # Darrenon 28 Jan 2009 at 10:51 am

    @PeterB Thank you for sharing. 🙂

    @Lottie I was about to suggest we set up an independent authority with the same power, but that would probably cost more and take longer, so nevermind…

    @PeterT Yes we can!

    @Ian I think 2011. She can only have two terms maximum, so McAleese won’t be winning by default this time.

  8. # Peteron 28 Jan 2009 at 12:10 pm

    I am always happy to share my lack of thoughts

  9. # Damien O'Bamaon 28 Jan 2009 at 1:23 pm

    Peter – “Yes we can”….that’s my line! Though, officially I’ve licenced it to Ben & Jerry’s for the next 4 years … I wonder if our good Mary McAleese has any insanely catchy mantras that could be used to sell something Irish, like say…pork…

  10. # Damien O'Bamaon 28 Jan 2009 at 1:35 pm

    I’d also like to hazard a guess that we need to have a president to keep Ireland looking semi-respectable in the international arena…even if she doesn’t really do anything. When you’ve got people like B…B….Bertie Ah..Ahem…Ahern leading this glorious nation, and being replaced by someone(Brian Cowen) who looks closer to a bulldog than an actual real person, you need something to polish up that image, wouldn’t you say!?

  11. # PaddyinEnglandon 28 Jan 2009 at 6:24 pm

    BERTIE FOR PRESIDENT, THAT BITCH BEEN IN THERE LONG ENOUGH!

  12. # Damien Obamaon 28 Jan 2009 at 10:34 pm

    ^ …Hostile… ^

  13. # Darrenon 29 Jan 2009 at 12:24 pm

    @Damien I think you got the image links wrong in your comment. I can only see two pictures of bulldogs.

    @Paddy Harsh! But I think I’d vote for Bertie. Sure, he’s yer only man.

  14. # Damien O'Bamaon 29 Jan 2009 at 4:44 pm

    Rubbish, Darren. I, of course, got the image links right, and WordPress interpreted them incorrectly….there’s just no reasoning with blogging software these days…not like the old days…they think everything’s so black or white, but I remember a time when you could have a reasonable discussion, make a few attempts at conversation, and either come to an agreement, or coax the BS into agreeing you were right all along. *shakes head* Thems were the days….

  15. # Maxi Caneon 30 Jan 2009 at 4:01 pm

    What does the job pay?

    Does it go on FÁS when it’s vacant?

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