Will the Aras be turned into a retirement home again with Higgins?

darkman2

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

bleg

I don't think so. He comes across as being very lively and young at heart he also seems to be in good health and his mind is still Sharp. You should listen to his argument with Michael graham on newstalk, he's unquestionably animated in that.

eyescreamcone

70 odd years of age in 2011 is a lot younger than 70 odd in the 60s.

But yes!
The Aras will be like a retirement home if Michael D wins.

Where is Devs false teeth and hearing aid locker???

mike65

I don't know it would be a bad thing if that turned out to be the case, though it seems to me that Prof Higgins still has plenty of life in him at this point. Maybe he might find after 2 or 3 years that he feels like winding down.

smokingman

The Queen is 14 years older than Higgins and she's doing a grand enough job of being head of state for our neighbours; are you saying us Irish aren't as long lasting as the aul Brits?

GSF

smokingman wrote: »

The Queen is 14 years older than Higgins and she's doing a grand enough job of being head of state for our neighbours; are you saying us Irish aren't as long lasting as the aul Brits?

She gets the kids and the grand kids to pitch in. Higgins (hopefully) wont be sending his offspring on overseas visits?

blahfckingblah

Id love to see him making it universally accessable,,, just in case like

MagicMoose

I think he's too old as well but he'll still probably win. Ireland really should have someone who stands a better than average chance of surviving to the end of his term or going gaga midway through it.

RandomName2

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

It hs always been a retirement home.

Mary Robinson proved the exception, (abandoning the office when she got an opportunity to give up retirement )

foggy_lad

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

better a retirement home than an arms dump for a semi-retired provo

sh1tstirrer

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

You vote for whoever you think will make the best president age doesn't matter. I think he is the best candidate as the rest of them don't impress me much.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Not too old at all for a single term imo. If he were to seek a 2nd term, his age would obviously become a big issue then.

dicknorris

Yes he is too old, yes he will win, yes there is not a decent candidate between the lot of them

Paparazzo

It's not exactly a job that needs someone to be young. And Michael D is still younger than our National Soccer team manager. If you're competent enough you're young enough.

pubview

Pity there isn't a Black candidate so someone could pick on them for their colour.

thebman

Argument is pretty much defeated by the fact that every other candidate isn't as quick to respond with an intelligent answer to questions.

His body may be older than the others but his mind is clearly younger or maybe just older and wiser but in either case, the result is him still being the best candidate.

Not voting for someone purely because of their age is ageism IMO.

jimmycrackcorm

But sure, being president of Ireland is a job for a retiree in any case!

FloatingVoter

The man has said he only intends to do a single term if elected. Any debate on age is +7, not +14.

anymore

smokingman wrote: »

The Queen is 14 years older than Higgins and she's doing a grand enough job of being head of state for our neighbours; are you saying us Irish aren't as long lasting as the aul Brits?

She raised the most dysfunctional public family in Europe amd have you foragotteen one of her poor daughter - in laws driven first to bilimina and ulmtimately to death in Paris. Lizzie Windsor is an unfeeling utterly selfish individual.

phog

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

What does the president have to do as head of state that a mentally sound 70yo person couldnt do?

I'm not sure who I'll be voting for yet but I wont be ruling Michael D out on his age.

jbkenn

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

To me Michael D is the obvious choice for the Presidency, why?, he is the most cost effective candidate of the assortment of muppets in the running, as he is the candidate least likely to live long enough to burden the long suffering Irish taxpayer with another obscenity of a Presidential pension, and, we will probably only get lumbered with the cost of his State funeral.
Mary Robinson did not serve her full term, choosing instead to do a runner, rapidly forgetting her "Candle in the window" as soon as the U.N. job came up, yet we pay her her full pension "entitlement".
The last available figures in the public domain for Noddy are
Presidential pension €146,000 reputedly took a 10% cut to €131,400
Senators pension €35,216
Source http://www.independent.ie/national-news/robinson-takes-10pc-cut-as-an-example-1868277.html
In addition Noddy unselfishly did an additional year on her term as U.N. High Commissioner, thereby entitling her to a pension (in 2002 terms) of €11,400
Source http://www.independent.ie/national-news/the-extra-year-at-un-set-marys-pension-smiling-499778.html
So, by my tally that makes a grand total of €178,016, not bad for approx 32 years of public service lardarseing, nice pension if you can get it, and you still have the added bonus of the free State funeral when you pop your clogs.
Think about those figures as you haul yourself out of the bed of a morning to head off to your work, if you have a job, or to sign for Social Welfare if you don't.
How many people posting here would gladly work just for Noddy's Senators pension?.

"Vote Michael D Higgins, the cost effective candidate".

anymore

jbkenn wrote: »

To me Michael D is the obvious choice for the Presidency, why?, he is the most cost effective candidate of the assortment of muppets in the running, as he is the candidate least likely to live long enough to burden the long suffering Irish taxpayer with another obscenity of a Presidential pension, and, we will probably only get lumbered with the cost of his State funeral.
Mary Robinson did not serve her full term, choosing instead to do a runner, rapidly forgetting her "Candle in the window" as soon as the U.N. job came up, yet we pay her her full pension "entitlement".
The last available figures in the public domain for Noddy are
Presidential pension €146,000 reputedly took a 10% cut to €131,400
Senators pension €35,216
Source http://www.independent.ie/national-news/robinson-takes-10pc-cut-as-an-example-1868277.html
In addition Noddy unselfishly did an additional year on her term as U.N. High Commissioner, thereby entitling her to a pension (in 2002 terms) of €11,400
Source http://www.independent.ie/national-news/the-extra-year-at-un-set-marys-pension-smiling-499778.html
So, by my tally that makes a grand total of €178,016, not bad for approx 32 years of public service lardarseing, nice pension if you can get it, and you still have the added bonus of the free State funeral when you pop your clogs.
Think about those figures as you haul yourself out of the bed of a morning to head off to your work, if you have a job, or to sign for Social Welfare if you don't.
How many people posting here would gladly work just for Noddy's Senators pension?.

"Vote Michael D Higgins, the cost effective candidate".

Are we not paying a PS pension as a professor, and pension as TD and Minister ? Plus of course if he as a living wife, we will continue to pay her various widow's pensions. No I suggest most efficient option is to vote for someone not from the PS.

P.S could someone please, please tell him not to wear pants that make him look as if he is wearing a pants too sizes too big for him - bad enough that he is small enough to audition as a part of one of the dwarves in Snow White

nesf

anymore wrote: »

She raised the most dysfunctional public family in Europe amd have you foragotteen one of her poor daughter - in laws driven first to bilimina and ulmtimately to death in Paris. Lizzie Windsor is an unfeeling utterly selfish individual.

What has any of that got to do with her age?

anymore

thebman wrote: »

Argument is pretty much defeated by the fact that every other candidate isn't as quick to respond with an intelligent answer to questions.

His body may be older than the others but his mind is clearly younger or maybe just older and wiser but in either case, the result is him still being the best candidate.

Not voting for someone purely because of their age is ageism IMO.

By that token why give a person several pensions because of thier age; isnt that ageism ?

Da Shins Kelly

thebman wrote: »

Argument is pretty much defeated by the fact that every other candidate isn't as quick to respond with an intelligent answer to questions.

His body may be older than the others but his mind is clearly younger or maybe just older and wiser but in either case, the result is him still being the best candidate.

Not voting for someone purely because of their age is ageism IMO.

I won't be voting for him because of his age. The man is 71. He's as instutionalized as anyone who came before him, he could very well die in office and doesn't in any way represent anything I stand for, as a young person. The country is in dire need of change, and yet people are still going to vote for an OAP who seems positively emotionless and no different to anyone that came before him. If that makes me ageist, then so be it. I don't really care.

anymore

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I won't be voting for him because of his age. The man is 71. He's as instutionalized as anyone who came before him, he could very well die in office and doesn't in any way represent anything I stand for, as a young person. The country is in dire need of change, and yet people are still going to vote for an OAP who seems positively emotionless and no different to anyone that came before him. If that makes me ageist, then so be it. I don't really care.

Well said. I expect i am one of the older posters on this site and frankly I remember De Valera shuffling around as a geriatric President and here we are getting into that siruation again - it is embarassing. I want somebody reasonably young to represent this country - why on earth have we spent millions advertising this country over the last 20 years as having such a well educated young population when we are willing to elect an old fossil as President - it doesnt really make sense.

imme

darkman2 wrote: »

De Velera really intended it to be a retirement home for himself. And it was for 14 years. The old man up there was not overly active.

I think Higgins is just too old. I know others think differently but that is my opinion and the opinion of many I have spoken to. Nothing against the man at all. One guy made the point that we may understand Higgins but to the outside it's the old Irish President who looks distinctly like one of the cast out of Last of the Summer Wine and IMO will be just as active.

I don't think Dev saw it a retirement home for himself, if he did he'd have given it more powers in his 1937 constitution.

Why would you discriminate on grounds age, why not take experience and ability into consideration.

anymore

imme wrote: »

I don't think Dev saw it a retirement home for himself, if he did he'd have given it more powers in his 1937 constitution.

Why would you discriminate on grounds age, why not take experience and ability into consideration.

We discriminate oin age grounds in requiring candidates to be a minimum age to vote, to enter presidential elections and on grounds of education as far as voting in Seanad lections are concerned. So why should people not be allowed to discriminate on age grounds in this istance ?

Da Shins Kelly

anymore wrote: »

We discriminate oin age grounds in requiring candidates to be a minimum age to vote, to enter presidential elections and on grounds of education as far as voting in Seanad lections are concerned. So why should people not be allowed to discriminate on age grounds in this istance ?

Also, age is a big deal when you're electing someone as President and they have to serve a 7 year term, travelling around, representing the country. What's the point in electing someone who could very well die while in office and leave us having to vote again? Also, it's important too to have someone that is representative of a new Ireland, one that is ready to change. To be honest, I think electing an OAP is sending out a worse message to the world (something people seem to be preoccupied with in this election) than electing a former IRA man or a homosexual. It's basically saying that we'd rather have an elderly man, who is as much a product of the establishment as any of the goons before him, than take a risk and elect someone a little less boring.

thebman

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I won't be voting for him because of his age. The man is 71. He's as instutionalized as anyone who came before him, he could very well die in office and doesn't in any way represent anything I stand for, as a young person. The country is in dire need of change, and yet people are still going to vote for an OAP who seems positively emotionless and no different to anyone that came before him. If that makes me ageist, then so be it. I don't really care.

What doesn't he represent that you want represented?

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Also, age is a big deal when you're electing someone as President and they have to serve a 7 year term, travelling around, representing the country. What's the point in electing someone who could very well die while in office and leave us having to vote again? Also, it's important too to have someone that is representative of a new Ireland, one that is ready to change. To be honest, I think electing an OAP is sending out a worse message to the world (something people seem to be preoccupied with in this election) than electing a former IRA man or a homosexual. It's basically saying that we'd rather have an elderly man, who is as much a product of the establishment as any of the goons before him, than take a risk and elect someone a little less boring.

What is the risk of him dying in office? We will just elect a new president if that happens, I don't really see the problem or think it is likely that he will die in office TBH.
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