THE bookies rarely get it wrong and independent Sean Gallagher is the clear favourite to be elected as the ninth President of Ireland after next Thursday’s poll.

He’s on the board at 4/5, ahead of Labour’s Michael D Higgins at 10/11 and after that it seems, at this stage, it’s just question of whether Fine Gael’s Gay Mitchell can recover enough ground to finish in third position ahead of Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness.
David Norris, Mary Davis and Dana Rosemary Scallon are now very much on the fringes of the contest.
However, the quote, “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes”, attributed to Mark Twain, is very relevant in the toughest of all blood sports – politics – where candidates are at the mercy of the public. Predictions and polls are one thing, but certainty can only come when the final vote is cast a week from now.
The office of the President of Ireland is a non-political one, yet you have to engage in a lot of political warfare to establish claim to the Áras for seven years.
A lot could happen in the final days of this Presidential election campaign in which the frontrunners, or indeed back markers, could see their fortunes change for better or worse. The biggest challenge facing the seven candidates will be to avoid gaffs and, no doubt, they will be warned over and over again by handlers to engage the brain before speaking. It will be a case of saying as little as possible.
It also remains to be seen what, if any, other skeletons are behind cupboard doors waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting candidates. 
When voters enter the polling stations on Thursday they will not just be choosing who they would like to see as President in succession to Mary McAleese. They will also have to consider two important proposals, which would require changes to the Constitution.
The first is on whether the pay of judges can be reduced in certain circumstances.  The second proposes to give the Houses of the Oireachtas express power to conduct inquiries into matters of general public importance and, in doing so, to make findings of fact about any person’s conduct.
If the referendum on judges’ pay is passed, the proposed change to the Constitution would allow for a law to be passed reducing the pay of judges proportionately, if the pay of public servants is being or has been reduced and that reduction is stated to be “in the public interest”. At present, the Constitution does not allow for the reduction of the remuneration of sitting judges.
The referendum on Oireachtas Inquiries proposes to give the Dáil and Seanad express power to conduct inquiries into matters of general public importance and, in doing so, to make findings of fact about any person’s conduct. At present, the Constitution does not give power to the Houses of the Oireachtas to conduct such inquiries.
Whatever about the Presidential election, the two referendums have crept under the radar and media coverage has been very low key. The TV advertisements of the past week or so are about as much as many people have seen or heard on the subject.
Ironically, both the issue of cutting judges’ pay and the issue of giving powers of inquiry to politicians have been regular headline news stories over the past couple of years. It was the hue and cry from across a wide spectrum of Irish society that brought the issues to referendum level. This intense interest has somehow evaporated and, with many people, it has slipped into the disinterest zone.
To assist the electorate in coming to a decision, however, the Referendum Commission has distributed an information guide to homes across the country. Information is also available online at www.referendum2011.ie.
Expectations are of a generally low turnout of voters across the country but there is good incentive for Clare people to buck the trend. The Clare constituency has had two former TDs in the Park in Eamon de Valera and Patrick J Hillery and if Michael D Higgins triumphs, the record of three presidents from one county would be quite an achievement.
This, of course, should not necessarily be the deciding factor. Who you should vote for is a matter for each person to decide on, based on his or her own criteria for determining the best candidate. The most important thing is to vote.

Threat to emergency services

WHAT a shame. Just a week ago, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis was enjoying a moment in the sun, with the new €2.5 million endoscopy unit going into service but this week, the story is quite grim.
The emergency department, which was reduced from a 24-hour to a 12-hour, day service in April 2009, could be facing a further cut in hours.
Far from a restoration of 24-hour emergency services in Ennis, The Clare Champion has learned that the HSE is considering cost-cutting measures at the hospital, which could result in the provision of casualty services from 8am to 12noon from Monday to Thursday, excluding Bank Holidays, within a fortnight.
Currently the emergency department, which is run under the direction of emergency care physicians, operates from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. The physicians in Ennis are employed on an agency basis and it’s understood that unless suitably qualified doctors can be recruited without incurring any agency or overtime costs, the emergency department is facing the prospect of a dramatic reduction in its operating hours.
Deputy Timmy Dooley has condemned this retrograde proposal as “crazy”. The Fianna Fáil TD, whose party presided in government while 24-hour emergency services were slashed in the Mid-West, has called on Health Minister Dr James Reilly to meet hospital managers in the region to avert the crisis facing Ennis hospital.
Outraged at the proposal, HSE Forum West member, Councillor Brian Meaney, noted it is extremely difficult to recruit suitably qualified emergency care physicians to work in Ennis hospital because of the current shortage of hospital doctors.
Dr Reilly has been in the firing line for failing to deliver on pre-election commitments in respect of a number of hospitals. He simply cannot allow emergency services to slide any further at Ennis. That would be unforgivable.