We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE VOLUNTEER INFORMATION groupTellUsWhy.ie has asked each of the Presidential candidates a question for each day of this week to discern their priorities for the office.
TheJournal.ie is hosting the question – and answers – each day.
Question 3: “If you were on a State visit to China, and invited to make a keynote address, what would be your primary focus?”
David Norris:
I would use the occasion to advance Ireland’s interests and respectfully remind our hosts of any national concerns we might have. Our increasing ties with China are incredibly important as its growing economic power, in a increasingly global economy, will continue to have a great influence on our future. But with this comes a responsibility to help highlight our responsibilities as citizens of the world to champion human rights and protect the marginalised.
Gay Mitchell:
Speeches on State visits abroad are written either by the Department of Foreign Affairs, or by the President based on instructions from Foreign Affairs. The President’s role in foreign affairs is strictly limited under the Republic of Ireland Act. They act on the authority of the Government.
I would of course wish to highlight a range of issues, from developing economic links, to issues to do with human rights, to international relations. But ultimately the speech could only touch on things approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Martin McGuinness:
The primary focus would be to attract jobs to the island of Ireland from what is one of biggest economies in the world. I would also have a duty and responsibility to state that we in Ireland treasure civil and religious liberty and we believe the rights of all citizens must be protected.
Mary Davis:
Having had the pleasure of visiting on a number of occasions through my work as head of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, I recognise that China is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Ireland needs to develop a much more significant trading relationship with not only China, but other burgeoning economies in central Asia and further east.
In my address, I would focus on our country’s industrious, educated and hard-working people. I would stress the fact that we have become an international hub for many multinationals with many of the top technology firms locating their European centres there. I would highlight our attractiveness as a place to do business with a low corporation tax rate and an innovative, educated and committed workforce.
Michael D. Higgins:
If I was on a State visit, I would raise human rights in China and Tibet in my private discussions with the Chinese Head of State, relying on the most up-to-date and objective briefing provided to me from our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This would be the most appropriate and, I believe, effective, means of communication on these matters.
In terms of a keynote address to the Chinese people, I would seek to concentrate on the connections which can be build between two of the great and ancient civilisations located at the two extreme ends of the world. I would emphasise to them that Ireland’s unique history and the fact that we have never colonised another state. I would then invite the Chinese people to visit us and marvel at the wonderful sites of our built and natural heritage throughout the State which tells our story, and to take advantage of the new visa arrangements which are now in place, precisely to facilitate that – noting the capacity of Shannon Airport to take the new superjets which are going in to service.
I would also take note of the discussions at the Global Irish Economic Forum only last weekend, which suggested that we here concentrate on building brand recognition to increase exports to China and other emerging markets, I would also be seeking new synergies with China – in addition to the tourism which I have already mentioned – to assist in employment creation here in Ireland.
Seán Gallagher:
My primary focus would be on Ireland’s strengths and what we do well. We have a great story to tell. Our economy needs to be built on sectors we are good at, tourism, food and agriculture, craft and in our new areas of expertise in technology, digital media and energy. Our country and its people have many talents and unique strengths. We can do whatever we choose, once we believe in it and are prepared to work at it.
I would focus on the talent we have and how Irish companies could contribute to the Chinese market. I would highlight how skilled and talented the Irish workforce how our country is an excellent place in which to invest. And I would talk about Ireland and its people and the warm welcome visitors receive throughout the country.
Dana Rosemary Scallon: Failed to return an answer to the question.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Is Mary Davis capable of answering ANY question without first referring to her work with the Special Olympics? The Mystic Meg in me forsees awards for humility are clearly not in her future.
No.
no surprise the two FF candidates have nothing to say on human rights issues.
Interesting that Martin McGuinness seems to have developed a blind spot to the ethnically cleansing and occupation Tibet, given his life’s work of fighting occupiers in the north of Ireland. Strange smell of Hypocrisy?
Is it just me or does anyone else find it impossible to read David Norris reply without reading it in his accent!
It’s for this very reason that my head is happier for Dana [yet again] exempting herself!
While on the subject of China, of course, Micheal Martin’s Chinese accent still cracks me up.
Roll on the 27th. Sooner this lunatic campaign and the rubbish that it entails is over the better. The presidency is irrelevant given the problems Ireland faces. Not that u would realise that from the media’s nonsensical, completely OTT coverage.
Bread and circuses, John.
Dana is still trying to find China on the map.
Dana last seen scanning the area arounk Beleek Co. Fermanagh for fine china while desperately trying to get information from Barrys and Lyons as to how much tea we consume.
Are you for real?
Dana had another blow out.
News just in from Camp Dana .
her spokesman \fan says there will be no need for her to reply to the above question as she will be going to the USA on other business instead .
Only one comment about Higgins answer …. 1.5 billion chinese already know that he has dissed their society and their way of life. If he had used that fantastic intellect that he is so proud of, he would have used his position to fight for rights in THIS country instead of mouthing off over the last decade about the Chines governments handling of human rights in China. He would not be welcomed there, or receive a state visit. Way to go Higgins, but there are still 5.5billion other people on the planet to insult wth that amazing intellect of yours. Ireland doesnt need the jobs that are on offer from China right now … You are right…
To put the number of Chinese in context:
Take the population of Europe, add the population of the US, and double the total.
That’s a lot of beef to be sold!
If we as a nation “can’t afford” to speak against clear human rights violations anywhere in the world, if we have to stand by and watch other nations disregard the lives and dignity of their citizens as we ourselves were disregarded, for fear they’ll take their business elsewhere, while we blow billions shoring up unsecured speculators, then we don’t deserve to be a nation at all.
MDH has the balls to say what he believes to be right, and he is to be commended, and in my view, elected, for it.
@David, where was he, when we had 32 people murdered in the Dublin/Monaghan bombins? He has not once in thsi campaign demanded a public inquirey from his own governent party colleagues …. Did you ever here the saying , Charity begins at home ?? Higgins mouths off against another sovereign nation, yet he doesnt seem able to criticise his own governmnents policy of taking money from welfare and lowest income earners IN THIS COIUNTRY. Go figure that one
Cal, while I agree that there should be a full inquiry into any and all allegations of governmental collusion into abuses such as these, the question, like your comment and my reply, was about China.
……yet when it comes to speaking up for the human rights of our own people on our own island …… I am just saying is all.
You’re just displaying ignorance on this particular issue for the world to see Cal. China is undertaking an ethnic cleansing project in peaceful Tibet, mutilating women and displacing people from their homes, flooding the place with ethnic Chinese and empowering them at the expense of locals. I disagree that addressing this, at the heart of the problem, in China, is ‘dissing’ people, many of whom are censored, imprisoned or exiled for speaking up.
Some run up to the election . Mcallese didn’t need all these silly questions as guess what she knew what she was doing and had the charisma intelligence and likeability factor so sick if this muppet show seriously still I dont think any
If them fit the bill and on an other hand can Ireland really afford a president
Please can the election papers be printed with a box saying NONE OF THE ABOVE. Why should only the people who want to vote for a candidate have their say. The majority of people dont seem to want any of the candidates put forward or who put themselves forward why can’t we have our say too ? Staying away and not voting is not having your say, its just been denied your right to vote.
As yesterday and monday, could the candidates *please* be asked to comment on the constitutional referendums that will be happening at the same time as their election? And optionally, to comment on the kind of amendments they would like to see coming from next year’s constitutional convention?
Pretty please?
Right now, we’re electing a president while ignoring the candidate’s views on the thing they’re meant to safeguard – it’s like going to a doctor based on what car they drive rather than what their medical training is in!
If we put our questions to the Irish presidential candidates will they answer them? or will they be just be cast aside, just like the votes for certain candidates will be
Dana Rosemary Scallon is a douchebag lol
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say