THE NEW LEADER of the Green Party is Roderic O’Gorman.
He has beaten Pippa Hackett with a slim 52% majority. O’Gorman secured 984 votes to Hackett’s 912. The total number of votes cast was 1896 with an electorate of 3425 Green Party members, who each have one vote.
Speaking at the party gathering in Bewley’s Café in Dublin this morning, O’Gorman thanked members for their support and thanked Hackett for bringing “key issues to the fore”.
“Over the last four years, the Green Party has done exactly what we said we would – we have delivered. On ambitions in climate and the environment, protecting nature, in supporting children and families, backing the arts and culture. We can be proud of our party’s record for people in all parts of Ireland,” O’Gorman said.
“We now need to demonstrate to everyone that Green Party policies are focused on the challenges of today every bit as much as those of tomorrow. Our solutions – on climate, transport, housing, support for families – benefit everyone on this island. That job starts today,” he added.
O’Gorman said today that he wants to see this Government run its full term until March 2025 and that he is not going to propose a Cabinet reshuffle.
He said this was because he wants to see the delivery of more of the Green Party policies that were set out in the Programme for Government.
Hackett wished O’Gorman the best and said she looks forward to working alongside him.
Roderic O’Gorman was first elected as a TD in February 2020 and just four months later was appointed Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
He is now the fourth leader of the Green Party.
Hackett was first elected to Seanad Éireann in 2020 and was Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity.
O’Gorman and Hackett had both been vying for the leadership since Eamon Ryan announced that he would be stepping down at the end of last month.
Ryan led the party for 13 years, succeeding John Gormley in 2011, and has been a TD since 2002.
Since the leadership race began, two Green Party hustings have taken place and members have been voting online for the last three days.
O’Gorman’s core campaign message was that he wants the party to have a greater focus on social issues.
Hackett meanwhile believes there has been “a disconnect” between the voters and what the party is trying to achieve.
The local elections in 2019 and the general election in 2020 saw record-breaking victories for the Green Party, but by the recent local and European elections, the tide had turned.
The party lost over half its local councillors in June’s elections, dropping from 49 to 23 seats. The party also lost both of its MEPs.
During his first speech as leader today, O’Gorman said the party’s core vote remains strong but that if the Greens’ decide to only rely on their core votes then they will lose seats.
“As leader, I want us to hold our seats, I want us to grow our seats… I want to win in every part of Ireland,” he said.
Speaking toThe Journal recently, O’Gorman outlined how he wants to see the Green Partybroaden the party’s policy direction. This came in contrast to Hackett’s approach, who toldThe Journal that environmentalism needs to underpin all policies in the party.
O’Gorman grew up in Dublin 15 and lives in Blanchardstown with his husband.
Before his election to the Dáil, he was a law lecturer in Dublin City University and had served on Fingal County Council for six years.
At the beginning of his tenure as Minister for Children and Integration, O’Gorman had committed to dismantling the direct provision system for asylum seekers and moving the country to a state-led approach with state-owned accommodation.
However, the onset of Russia’s war with Ukraine in 2020 and the subsequent arrival of over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to Ireland led to significant pressure on his Department.
At the same time, Ireland saw an increase in arrivals from other countries seeking asylum, with the Government failing to provide accommodation for all international protection seekers.
Currently, 2,300 people who are seeking asylum in Ireland are homeless.
O’Gorman recently toldThe Journal that he would like to remain in his brief if he became leader as thereare still “major pieces of work to get done”.
With reporting from Jane Matthews
