‘I’m an ordinary person who likes to call a spade a spade’

“THIS is the fifty first state ... of the USA.”

The opening line of the 1980s anti-Thatcherite hit 'Heartlands' by the British rock band The The rang out across the Dáil.

It is not every day you get someone singing in the hallowed halls of Leinster House, so the sound did wake up the small number of TD's sitting in the chamber.

Former busker Paul Gogarty used his entertainment skills in Dáil Éireann to express his disdain for the government's alliance to Boston economic principles at the expense of the socially more acceptable Berlin model in a budget debate. He thought it was an effective way to convey his views.

Although respecting the traditions of the house, Deputy Gogarty says he hates the pomp and ceremony of the Oireachtas, especially when he has seen how the European and German parliaments are far less restrictive.

"When you're speaking without a script sometimes you will get riled up. I decided on the spur of the moment that rather than say it I'd sing it. I don't like ceremony for its own sake and the house could and should change with the times," he says unapologetically.

It was not the only time Deputy Gogarty caused a stir in the house. Aside from participating in the Green Party's protest stunts, he irked a number of his counterparts by stating that TDs should forego recent wage increases and in recent weeks he used the "f" word in a debate.

Invariably wearing an open necked shirt, its not as though he comes across as your average TD. But don't think the 34-year-old from Lucan is some sort of political harlequin.

Admitting that the description of him as the Fianna Fáil wing of the Green Party is quite appropriate not in the machiavellian sense but in terms of being organised on the ground Deputy Gogarty's political outlook is quite pragmatic: "I'm just an ordinary person who likes to call a spade a spade."

After unsuccessfully contesting the 1991 local elections, he won a seat on South Dublin County Council in 1999 and quickly realised he'd have to commit himself fully to politics to get into the Dáil.

The gamble of giving up his job as a journalist two years ago to focus full time on politics paid off. It meant he had to put off his wedding a situation he's now looking to rectify once he gets over the hurdle of buying a house. Working from a small base in the West Dublin suburb of Lucan, he replaced Liam Lawlor as the local TD.

Next weekend, the Greens meet in Ennis, Co Clare for their annual conference. The party has steadily moved on from its days as a bunch of sandal wearing idealists and is transforming into an organised political force. Now with a general secretary in place for the first time and regional organisers also appointed, the overall structure is in place to take on the 'big boys' in the majority of councils around the country.

Following on from the success of the general election, where the party increased its Dáil representation from two to six, including their first TD from outside Dublin, Deputy Gogarty sees the local elections as a chance for the party to signal its new maturity and prove the general election was no fluke.

Yet, he feels the party is a little bit naive and all too often the victims of unfair branding, like the suggestions that they are anti-European and too closely aligned to Sinn Féin.

"People will take any hammer and try to beat us with it, but I take that as a compliment. This party is built on environmental credentials and pacifist credentials. Green voters are completely different to Sinn Féin voters. We come from two different traditions one from armed and one from pacifist. Personally I would have no truck with the armed tradition. The link to Sinn Féin is simply because we were forced into the technical group in the Dáil with them and the independents as it was the only way."

Unlike Fine Gael, who are going through an identity crisis and searching for dynamic policies, the Green Party knows exactly what they stand for, and it is just a matter of focusing on their policies and communicating them to the electorate by engaging with the people, Deputy Gogarty feels.

"We have the potential to be a national movement. The plain ordinary people of Ireland have concerns about quality of life on issue like the environment, housing and health care. Everything boils back down to the sustainability of the quality of life," he said.

This coming weekend Deputy Gogarty will be trying to pass on his experiences in a specific workshop for local election hopefuls. Firmly believing the Green Party can win at least 30 county and city council seats and maybe even reach the real target of 50, he says there's an awful lot of work yet to be done.

Spreading the influence of the six TDs as wide as possible, he's suggesting each of his colleagues adopts a number of other constituencies and give support by offering advice and putting in parliamentary questions on behalf of their local election candidates in those areas.

"What I want to do is kick ass. I am a pacifist with a 'pass-a-fist' attitude. There is no point in having policies and never being in a position to implement those policies.

"I am going to tell our candidates that they have to get on the doors and engage with people. But you have to then keep people updated as to what you are doing. All the work is done in the 12 months before the election. If you're effectively not elected by the April before the election you're not going to get elected," he says.

In line with Green Party policy, which banned TDs from remaining as councillors long before any of the other parties, Deputy Gogarty recently handed over his council seat to his campaign director, Fintan McGrath. Putting a different spin on the abolition of the dual mandate debate, he told the people of Lucan they were effectively doubling the representation rather than abandoning them. The opposition of the abolition of the dual mandate is motivated solely by TDs protecting their own patches, he said.

"It's parish pump politics. I think it's running scared. It is purely defensive and anyone who denies it is not telling the truth. But I'd say a lot of people feel good about me giving up my council seat.

"People are becoming a bit more clued in in terms of what councillors can and can't do. They can't get you houses or planning permission if you're not entitled to it. TDs are supposed to be legislators but if a TD tries to be sensible about their role they can still represent people very well. You can still represent people without resorting to the Gombeen mentality," he said. "What I would be worried about is the profile falling down. But there are ways of keeping in touch. You don't have to just do your clinics. I'm all for knocking on doors. I think people have to become more adaptable with communicating with people."