is ex officio president of the Irish Red Cross Society. The president appoints, on the advice of the government, the Senior Professors and chairman of the council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies; the governor of the Central Bank of Ireland; the members of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal; the Ombudsman; and the members of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The president appoints one trustee to the Chester Beatty Library. This was specified in Chester Beatty's will and given effect by a 1968 Act of the Oireachtas. The president is the patron of Gaisce – The President's Award, established by trust deed in 1985. The president is the patron of Clans of Ireland, including its Order of Merit, since he so agreed in January 2012. The president confers the title of Saoi on those so elected by the membership of Aosdána. The president is patron to several charities in Ireland. Special limitations The president may not leave the state without the consent of the government. Every formal address or message "to the nation" or to either or both Houses of the Oireachtas must have prior approval of the government. Other than on these two (quite rare) occasions, there is no limitation on the president's right to speak. While earlier presidents were exceptionally cautious in delivering speeches and on almost every occasion submitted them for vetting, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese made much more use of their right to speak without government approval, with McAleese doing many live television and radio interviews. Nonetheless, by convention presidents refrain from direct criticism of the government. Discretionary powers The president possesses the following powers exercised "in his absolute discretion" according to the English version of the Constitution. The Irish version states that these powers are exercised as a chomhairle féin which is usually translated as "under his own counsel". Lawyers have suggested that a conflict may exist in this case between the two versions of the constitution. In the event of a clash between the Irish and English versions of the constitution, the Irish one is given supremacy. While "absolute discretion" appears to leave some freedom for manoeuvre for a president in deciding whether to initiate contact with the opposition, "own counsel" has been interpreted by some lawyers as suggesting that no contact whatsoever can take place. As a result, it is considered controversial for the president to be contacted by the