The Fianna Fail/PD presidential candidate, Prof Mary McAleese, expressed concern last night about the "corrosive cynicism" that has crept into the public perception of public life.
In an address delivered in University College Galway, Prof McAleese restated her defence against allegations that she had Sinn Fein links. She became involved the peace process through the Redemptorist Peace Mission out of a duty of public service.
Public service was an antidote to cynicism. Yet young people felt a great sense of alienation from the institutions of State. "I hope that as President I can by example, by my actions and my words, help to restore confidence in public life and public institutions."
Ms Mary Banotti, the Fine Gael candidate, said public service was about doing practical deeds.
"It is when we confuse the very practical business of politics with artistry that we get ourselves into trouble," she said. "It is practical. Get the facts. Work out what needs to be done. Garner support . . . and then . . . just do it."
She that in the past 40 years Ireland had been steadily putting the pieces in place to deliver the prosperity the State now enjoyed. She paid tribute both to former Taoisigh Mr John A. Costello and Mr Sean Lemass. "No cliches, no cleverly scripted speeches. They rolled up their sleeves and got things done."
Ms Adi Roche, the Labour-DL-Green Party candidate, accused the two main parties of seeking the prize of victory in the presidential election for party political ends. The role was falling back into the "old mould - seen bluntly as a trophy to be fought over by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail".
"Well I have news for both parties. The Presidency is not a trophy. It is not a passport to power. It is not a political life-jacket."
Ms Roche said she would not be happy in Aras an Uachtarain if her getting there had put the peace process in jeopardy. "Neither would I be happy if I were elected to the Presidency by seeming to be something I'm not."
The people of Ireland would not be served by "the belittling of the values of decency and honesty. Neither would they be served by having the office of President "dragged into the mud of party squabbling" when the people signalled at the last presidential election that they want a first citizen who was above that.
However, she added, neither should the public be served by anonymous leaks of confidential documents, "leaks which are designed by cynics to make political capital out of the suffering of Northern Ireland".
Mr Derek Nally said there was a "deep sense of crisis in the soul of this nation at present". Inside the body politic, the sense of knowing the difference between right and wrong had too often been set aside. There was too much evidence that people, who should have known better, had confused public service with self-service, said Mr Nally.
"The Ireland I know is offended by people who have lost their sense of public service. This presidential election offers a chance for Aras an Uachtarain and its occupant to rise above all that, to give the country a kind of leadership that anchors the values and decency of contemporary Ireland," he said.