Hustings speech, Thursday the 28th of July

Introduction

Thank you all, and thank you to our two moderators for this evening.

I want to start by telling you about how I first heard about the Green Party. It was 1989, I was eight, and the General Election was in full swing. As is the way, the lampposts were full of election posters, and I asked my mam what they were about.

She explained about the election and why people put up posters, and I asked her about one poster in particular.

She said, “That’s the Green Party – they’re a voice for the trees, and a voice for the animals.”

Some kids dream of being firemen, or astronauts, but at that moment I thought, “A voice for animals, a voice for trees? Yes, sign me up.”

That year, the Greens entered the Dáil for the first time. It is fair to say a lot has happened in the 35 years since then.

We’ve grown as a party, now 4,000 members strong. This has been a project of political change born out of the hard work and vision of so many incredible people. Working hard to get our voice onto Councils, into the Dáil, and into Government; implementing the policies that will help safeguard biodiversity and tackle the challenges of climate change and nature breakdown.

Throughout that time, we have been the only Irish political party consistently raising its voice for the natural environment.

That urgency of climate change and biodiversity loss is what led us to Government, and a Programme for Government backed by you, our members. On climate action and nature restoration, the mission for our Party remains as core today as it has ever been.

But we have never solely been a voice for the natural environment. Our founding principles are as much concerned with fairness and social justice. We have always sought to be a voice for the disadvantaged, those who face discrimination, those who struggle.

And within Government, we’ve not only been a voice. We are the changemakers. We’ve delivered progressive Budgets each of the four years, providing the most help to the least well off. We’ve targeted assistance for the most vulnerable, knowing that investment today leads to far better outcomes tomorrow.

We’ve delivered cost rental housing at scale, brought in new protections for renters, and new leave entitlements for parents. We have delivered the biggest investment in childcare in the history of the State.

These are our achievements as a party, and your achievements as members.

Tonight, as a candidate for leadership, I want to set out where we are at the moment as we enter the remaining months of Government; how we can prepare for the next election. And how our Party will always be a voice for the environment and progressive politics, but also a means of delivering better environmental and social policies.

Leadership

Since announcing my candidacy, I’ve constantly been asked: “Why do you want to be Green Party leader?” Indeed, a few have questioned “Why would anyone want to be Green Party leader?”

It is fair to say, anyone who watched Eamon Ryan over the years has seen how tough it can be: the dedication it takes; the long hours. The abuse from certain quarters, much of it personal.

So I understand why people ask the second question, but I’m more interested in the first.

I joined the Green Party when I was 18. 24 years of membership, 10 elections, 8 years as Party Chair, and serving as a Councillor, TD, and now a Minister.

I’m four years a Minister today. And those four years have been challenging. As someone said to me the other day, “You seem tougher than you did four years ago – and that’s a compliment.”

But no one joins the Green Party for an easy life, they join it to deliver on policies. That is what I have done.

No other Minister before me has even reduced the cost of childcare. I’ve halved it.

No other Minister has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, the largest war on the European continent since the Second World War. I have, and have housed over 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing here.

For decades, adopted people were denied their right to information. That was seen as legally impossible. I changed that. Ten thousand people now have information they were denied for decades because of a new law I introduced.

Has it been tough? Absolutely. The first week in the job, I had people outside the Dáil protesting me with images of a noose.

But we are in a moment now where it is going to be tough and we need to fight for progressive values, for Green values. We do not retreat in the face of opposition or unfounded attacks; we stand strongly for what we as Greens represent.

As Leader, that is what I will do.

Where We Are

The Local and European results were tough. We have to be honest.

We had strong results in parts of the country – Carolyn, Hazel, and Michael in Dublin; Honore in Cork; Sean in Limerick, Maria in Kilkenny – but we lost a lot of dedicated, hard-working councillors. In Ciarán and Grace, we lost two of the best MEPs Ireland has ever had.

Our core vote held strong, but if we are just relying on our core, we will lose Dáil seats.

I am not standing for leader to manage decline, or head back to the wilderness. I’m not accepting defeat.

I am standing for leader to hold our seats, and to grow our seats.

I am standing for leader to win in every part of Ireland - because only by winning votes and winning seats can we implement our policies.

In the last few months, I spent every evening and weekend canvassing, in my own constituency and for candidates around the country.

What those conversations told me is that we are not speaking to people’s day-to-day concerns, and until we do, we will struggle to move beyond 4%.

Climate change is the issue facing Ireland and the world – it is existential – and for that reason will always be central to us as a party.

But if you are a parent waiting on an Assessment of Need for your child – however much you may care about climate – your kid is what your priority will be.

If you’re a 32-year-old, living with your parents, not sure your future in Ireland is viable, that is what you are voting on.

These same daily struggles exist all over this country, in cities, in suburbs, in towns and townlands.

If we want to be in power – if we want to be in a position to implement our policies – we have to win the votes, and the only way to do that is to meet people where they are at; to listen to their concerns and frustrations, and show them that we are about delivery in 2025 every bit as much as 2030 or 2050.

We need to be winning in every part of the country.

In the last week, there has been a real focus on rural vs urban. Let me be clear: the Green Party needs to be winning votes all over our country.

In rural Ireland and in small villages. In large and medium-sized towns. In our regional cities. In working-class parts of Dublin.

We know we can do that - because we did it in 2019.

Yes, in 2024, we lost seats in Ennistymon and in Mullingar, but we lost seats in Ballymun and in Ongar.

I don’t know about you, but I want all those seats back.

There is a narrative about the Green Party in rural Ireland – we can’t deny that – but the way to win in rural Ireland is the way we can win in all parts of Ireland: by talking about and delivering the policies that will make a positive difference in people’s lives.

We should not confine ourselves to a narrative set by our opponents. We should be ambitious and go out there, hunt down every last vote, every preference.

Next Election

If we’re to be successful in doing that, we need our Party in fighting shape.

That starts with having the best possible understanding of where the public is at. I want to see a data-driven approach. That means using focus groups and polling to see how we can better target resources, and inform people about who we are.

That will cost money, and that is why I want us to grow our fundraising to meet the needs of a national campaign.

We need to strengthen our financial position and build a war chest capable of fighting the next election. And members, if I’m elected, I’ll have an ask of all of you on that front too!

We need a strong manifesto, one that we can sell and that we know we deliver in Government. As Leader, I will work with Policy Council to inform the manifesto development.

We need to make sure our candidates are well supported. I know that there was a general sense – across all parties – that it was tough getting people out canvassing in the recent elections.

We need to activate as many members for canvassing as possible. We need to hit the phones so we have the numbers to hit the doors.

That’s not just about candidates feeling confident and comfortable knocking on doors, but every single party member knowing they can persuade people to vote Green.

That is how we will win elections.

Conclusion

I have spent my entire life being inspired by this Party. All the successes, all the low points, have shaped me as a person. I’ve learned so much from people like Eamon, from Catherine, from John, Mary, and Trevor before them.

I am asking for your vote because I believe I have the experience, the vision, and the dedication to continue their work. I will work hard every single day to inspire unity, to keep us focused on our mission, to have us ready to compete and ready to deliver.

I want to thank Pippa for her participation