New Green leader Ryan says winning back trust a priority

NEW Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has admitted that his biggest task will be to win back public trust.

After a disastrous spell in government, the Greens were decimated in the general election, losing all six of their Dáil seats.

Mr Ryan, who had served as Communications Minister in the coalition with Fianna Fáil, was one of the casualties.

But despite the mistakes, which he concedes he and his colleagues made in government, the Green membership has opted to elect him leader to replace John Gormley, who is stepping down.

After a postal ballot which saw 550 members vote (from 768 eligible to vote), Mr Ryan emerged ahead of the two other candidates, Cllr Malcolm Noonan and party activist Phil Kearney. He said his “primary task” would be to “win back the trust and support of the Irish people”.

The Greens are targeting the 2014 local elections for city and county council seats as the first step in the rebuilding process.

Should the current Government last its full term, the next general election for Dáil seats will be in 2016.

Mr Ryan said he would not be taking a salary, given the Greens’ lack of finances. The party no longer qualifies for state funding after losing its Dáil seats, and has retained just one member of staff at party headquarters.

Mr Ryan said he would live on the ministerial severance package he received after leaving government and some paid work he hoped to pick up as a policy adviser to not-for-profit organisations.

As for the Greens, he said they were used to having “tight belts”, having grown the party in the 1980s despite a lack of resources.

The party had been through an “incredibly difficult period” in government but there was “common purpose” about its future, he insisted.

“Our leadership election has been a positive experience,” he said. “We have started to learn lessons from our mistakes and achievements in government and understand the need to protect what we did achieve.

“We wish the new Government well, and will be supportive in whatever way we can to get our country out of our immediate economic crisis. However, it is already clear that the new administration has little understanding of how a green approach could set us on a more sustainable path.

“The shelving of local government reforms, climate legislation and the various smart economy initiatives that we had ready to go, makes it clear that the Green Party is needed more than ever.”

The leadership contest was decided by way of a referendum, which allowed voters rank the candidates in order of preference rather than simply giving their vote to a single candidate. Points were then allocated to reflect those rankings.

Mr Ryan ended up with 1,197 points, Mr Noonan with 914 and Mr Kearney with 848, according to the party.