Chu confirms she will seek Green Party nomination for Dublin Bay South by-election

Lord mayor says she will not run for any other party or as an independent

Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu: No intention of running for any other party than the Greens. File picture: Gareth Chaney

Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu has confirmed her intention to seek the Green Party nomination for the Dublin Bay South by-election.

As reported by the Irish Examiner on Monday, Ms Chu officially threw her hat into the ring today.

Ms Chu, chair of the Green Party, will attempt to get the nod from the constituency organisation of her party leader Eamon Ryan, who recently did not vote for her in her Seanad by-election run as an independent. 

Ms Chu will compete with her Dublin City Council colleague Claire Byrne for the chance to fill the seat left by the resignation of Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy, a former housing minister.

No date is set for the selection convention, but Ms Byrne has denied it will be a "proxy war" between warring factions in the party.

“We will have a selection convention to go through with myself and Hazel, and it will be up to the members to choose,” she told Claire Byrne on RTÉ radio.

Well positioned

Ms Chu said that having taken 33% of the first-preference votes in the Pembroke ward in 2019 and being the current Lord Mayor of Dublin City, she is well-positioned for a run in the by-election, which will have to be held within the next six months. 

She said Mr Ryan had encouraged her to run.

Ms Byrne also topped the poll in her south-east inner-city ward in 2019.

Ms Chu said she has no intention of running for any other party than the Greens, saying that she had never been asked to join the Social Democrats.

"I know there's been all sorts of speculation going around that I would be running as an independent if I didn't get the nomination or I'd be joining another party," she said.

I won't be joining any other party if I don't get the nomination and I won't be running as an independent.

Ms Chu added: "As a councillor in the area and lord mayor, I have worked hard to support the local community and local businesses while working to fight the key issues we are facing as a country — homelessness and housing, discrimination and inequalities, climate change and ensuring a sustainable future.

"In my role I have created and also been part of working groups to address these issues such as the Dublin City Council City Recovery Task Force, the National Night Time Economy and the Lord Mayor's Homeless Task Force. Through each group I have worked to ensure that the pressing issues are addressed as we come out of Covid."

Other candidates

Fine Gael's nominations have opened this week, closing next Monday. Councillor James Geoghegan has announced his intention to run, while ex-TD Kate O’Connell has yet to confirm speculation she will enter the race.

Sinn Féin senators Fintan Warfield, Lynn Boylan, and councillor Daniel Ceitinn, who was co-opted into Chris Andrews' vacant seat after his election to Leinster House, have all been mooted as possible Sinn Féin candidates.

Labour senator Ivana Bacik is expected to be its candidate, with the Social Democrats yet to make a decision.

People Before Profit's likely candidate will be the party representative for the area, Brigid Purcell, while independent Norma Burke has also announced that she will run.