Sir, - As few qualifications as possible should be set for elected offices. They are an obvious constraint on democracy. I should therefore agree with Niall Andrews's proposal to abolish the requirement that the President be at least 35; but I can't.A country's constitution is the mechanism by which its forefathers convey their collective political wisdom to those who follow them. Ours is not an ancient constitution; it represents decades rather than centuries of experience, and it is reasonable to expect its refinement still to be an active process.That does not mean that everything in it is wrong. The presidential age limit is one of the things that isn't.Mr Andrews is convinced that there are people under 35 who would "grace" the office. I entirely agree. But there are two problems. The first would be getting one of them to do it. He lists a number of men who have held important political posts before their 35th birthday, but does he imagine that Michael Collins, had he not died at 32, would have sought to become Ireland's figurehead within the following few years?The second problem is much more serious. It is: and after- wards? The potential embarrassment that could be caused to the entire country by someone who had virtually been Ireland is enormous. Even Mary Robinson, while we are all confident that her performance at the UN will be a matter for further pride, has the potential to discredit the presidency and the country by her performance there.Age is a direct limitation on the "and, afterwards?" problem. If a President is old enough then it virtually disappears: afterwards is retirement and death. In addition, the older a person is, the longer we have known them as a public figure, the more confident we are of what we might expect. On the other hand, if our next President were a 23-year-old member of an all-girl rock band, however brilliantly she might discharge her office, could we be entirely certain that a future issue of Playboy would not be able to list, among the accomplishments of its current centrefold, "Former President of Ireland"?Perhaps article 12.4.1 should be changed. Is 45 old enough - or should it be 55? - Yours, etc.,WILLIAM HUNT,Harold's Cross,Dublin 6W.