New Green leader Roderic O’Gorman vows to win votes ‘in every part of Ireland’

Minister Roderic O’Gorman has pledged to win votes in all areas of Ireland as he took over as leader of the Green Party.

Mr O’Gorman said the party was proud of its achievements in government, but were also “very realistic about the challenges ahead”.

The Green Party leadership contest was triggered after Eamon Ryan announced he was standing down after 13 years at the helm, and would not be contesting the next general election.

Mr Ryan made the announcement after the Green Party lost both its MEPs and half its council seats in the European and local elections.

This was after its coalition partners, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, remained the largest parties in local government.

Mr O’Gorman, the Minister for Children and Integration, and Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett both put their names forward to succeed Mr Ryan.

At a press event in Bewley’s Cafe in Dublin city on Monday, it was announced that Mr O’Gorman had won 52% of the votes of 1,896 Green Party members who cast their votes between July 4-7.

He won 72 more votes than Ms Hackett.

“As leader, I want us to hold our seats, I want us to grow our seats,” Mr O’Gorman said as he set out his vision for the party.

“This is a challenge, but in the Green Party, we’ve never been afraid of the challenge.

“I want to win in every part of Ireland, because only by winning votes, by winning seats, do we have the capacity to implement those vital policies, we have to be out there fighting for every number one, fighting for every preference.

“I believe people vote for the Green Party because they know we can be counted on to get stuck in, to actually deliver. That’s what we’ve done. That’s what we’re continuing to do.”

Asked what would be different between his leadership and Mr Ryan’s, Mr O’Gorman said he would make it very clear to the public what immediate steps the party is taking to meet targets and to tackle daily non-climate challenges people face.

“I feel too often the public don’t see that the Green Party have answers to those questions – I believe we do, but I feel too often the public don’t see the challenges that people face every day are of concern to the Green Party.”

He said he didn’t believe the Green Party was divided after the “tight” result, which he said was due to Ms Hackett’s “strong” campaign.

He also said that votes within the party were often close: “Our party chair vote was very tight, our last leadership election was very tight, and we didn’t have a divided party after that either.”

He said he was happy to work with other TDs with different views to his, but said he would push the party’s views forward: “I will take the approach that I’ve always taken: in that when I can work with someone I’ll work with them.

“But if somebody is saying something that is wrong, if someone is saying something I disagree with politically, I will strongly advocate for the position that I believe in.

“And if someone is saying something that is factually wrong, I will never be afraid to call that out.

“Too often, when we hear debates in Dail Eireann, but particularly debates on the issues of migration, the degree (that) stuff is being made up is deeply, deeply frustrating and I won’t be afraid to call that out.

“We have to deal with serious issues in our country – migration is a serious topic that we have to engage with, there are many others – but it has to be on the basis of reality, it has to be on the basis of fact.

“It can’t be on the basis of ‘oh this one thing I saw on Facebook one time’, which unfortunately too often is the standard of debate that we see in Dail Eireann.”

He said he was “deeply humbled and deeply grateful” to become leader and paid tribute to Mr Ryan and deputy leader Catherine Martin, who he said had “guided our party back from our lowest point in 2011 back into the Dail, back into government”.

He said there would not be a reshuffle of the Green Party ministers, meaning that Mr Ryan will remain as Transport Minister and Ms Martin will keep the Media and Sport portfolio.

He thanked his family, his husband Ray, and members of the Green Party for their support.

The party’s membership has not yet cast their vote for the next deputy leader of the party.

Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan and Senator Roisin Garvey are seeking election to the role, while Minister of State Ossian Smyth pulled out of the contest.

Mr Smyth said he believed “it is best that the deputy leader is female” given that the leader of the party is a man.