Two-horse race in Green Party leadership contest

Roderic O’Gorman said the Green Party does not do coronations, as he is set to go head to head with Pippa Hackett in the party leadership contest.

The Minister for Children and Integration and Ms Hackett, a junior minister and Senator, announced their plans on Wednesday to run in the leadership bid.

It comes a day after Eamon Ryan said he would be stepping down as party leader.

Ms Hackett has received the backing of Green Party TD Ossian Smyth and Senator Pauline O’Reilly.

Mr O’Gorman, who is understood to have the backing of TD Joe O’Brien, said he believes he has the right experience and vision to lead the party.

“I also have the experience of being a Cabinet minister for the last four years, progressing some major pieces of legislation, major pieces of policy through Government,” he told RTE News at One.

“What we need to do as a party is to broaden our policy appeal. We have made amazing achievements in the area of climate, but we have never been a single issue party and we need to be bringing forward policies that have significant improvements in people’s lives.

“I expect Pippa will join the race, and I welcome that. I think a contest is good, we don’t do coronations in the Green Party.

“I think we will have a good opportunity to discuss these issues.”

He added: “I believe I have shown that the policies I have introduced in four years as minister are highly relevant to people living all over this country, halving the cost of childcare, increasing parents’ leave, bring the Dais model for pre-school.

“These are issues that are important to families, important to parents whether they are living in urban Ireland or rural Ireland.”

Ms Hackett told Newstalk: “I am delighted to say that I am putting my name forward to be the next leader of the Green Party.

“I think Eamon’s departure yesterday does give us an opportunity in the party for a fresh start.

“I believe a fresh start is needed.

“I believe I can be that fresh start. I’m not your conventional Green. I live in rural Ireland. I’m a beef and sheep farmer, I’m also a mother.

“I’ve also been a Cabinet minister for the past four years and the party has never really had a non-Dublin leader, we’ve never had a woman lead the party.

“I believe my different perspective and certainly my different life experiences can make the Green Party relevant and relatable inside and outside of Dublin.”

Deputy leader Catherine Martin also announced on Tuesday she will “step back” from her role, adding that she is not putting herself forward for the leadership contest.

The party is one of the three Government coalition partners, and suffered a poor performance at the local and European elections earlier this month, which saw the Greens lose both of their MEP seats.

Junior Minister Malcolm Noonan said that he is backing Mr O’Gorman, and welcomed a debate around the party’s communications.

“We will go through a process, it will be very democratic process,” he said at an event in Co Monaghan.

“I think it would be useful for the party to have a conversation about recalibration, about where we see ourselves strategically as we head into the next election.

“We aways want to be in Government. The only way we can implement any of our policies is by being in Government and we are never afraid to do that.

“I am looking forward to the debate. I’ve already rode my support in behind Minister Roderic O’Gorman. I think as a Cabinet minister he brings with him huge experience, not just strategically in the party but also as a Government minister.

“We are blessed and lucky to have so many fantastic people in the party.”

He added: “We certainly have a role to play in rural issues and that’s my own background as well.

“Critically we do need to use this period of the election of a new leader to have a focus and a think about the messaging of the party.”

Speaking on Morning Ireland on Wednesday, Mr Smyth said he hopes to be a future leader of the party but will not join the contest this time.

He also said the Green Party needs to be relevant outside Dublin.

“I think the party needs a big change,” he said.

“There’s this narrative that the Green Party is in opposition to rural Ireland and it’s not true and we need to counter that very clearly.

“Our last three leaders of the Green Party have been all from Dublin and I think that we need to make sure that we are clearly relevant outside of Dublin as well.

“We managed to top the poll in several Dublin constituencies recently in local elections and I kept all my councillors in Dun Laoghaire, six, but in other areas we lost all of our seats in some counties.

“Although it was a sad and poignant moment yesterday to have Eamon leaving after 13 years, it is an opportunity for change and we need something completely different.”

He added: “Pippa Hackett is an agriculture minister, she is a beef and sheep farmer from Offaly, she’s been sitting at the Cabinet table for the last four years and making decisions on every aspect in running the country and I think that she is the person to lead the party, and she hasn’t said she would but, if she’s listening now, I would like her to consider running.

“If she does agree to run, then I would be willing to run as deputy leader alongside her.”

Mr O’Reilly told Virgin Media that having Ms Hackett lead the party would counter the view that the Green Party does not understand rural Ireland.