Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I wish to express our condolences to the Taoiseach on the passing of his mother at the weekend.

On the constitutional convention, the Taoiseach referred to one or two matters, such as that relating to the Seanad, which he will progress outside of it. In the context of the reform of the presidency, during one of its periods in opposition Fine Gael introduced a Bill which would have changed the requirement whereby any citizen who wishes to contest a presidential election is dependent on Members of the Oireachtas or county councillors in order to obtain a nomination. Does the Taoiseach envisage pursuing this change during the lifetime of this Dáil and to hold a referendum on the matter? One way to proceed would be to require presidential hopefuls to secure a certain number of signatures of citizens or voters in order to obtain a nomination rather than obliging them to submit to the current undemocratic and exclusive system which applies in the context of standing for the Office of President. Another way to proceed - this would be my recommendation - would be to abolish the office entirely.

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