Elaine Loughlin: Neasa Hourigan's suspension stores up sticky conundrum for Greens

Expulsion puts TD and her local branch in a tricky position when it comes to selecting a candidate for the next general election

Running as an Independent in Dublin's inner city might go in Neasa Hourigan's favour. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Too eager to please the teacher, the Green Party pupils have gone overboard in their actions against their outspoken classmate down the back.

At least that's how some grassroots members within the party feel about the hefty sentence handed down to Neasa Hourigan for her defection on the eviction ban vote.

Former TD and party whip Dan Boyle took to Twitter to make his views known, stating that the length of the suspension is "too long", adding: "She should be allowed to retain her committee memberships where she does excellent work. I hope a mechanism to appeal these elements exists."

This was echoed by other councillors and grassroots members both publicly on social media and among each other on WhatsApp groups.

However, Ms Hourigan's fellow colleagues in Leinster House stressed that the punishment had to send out a strong signal.

Many felt particularly aggrieved that this had been the third time Ms Hourigan had voted against the Government.

Some privately admitted that the 15-month expulsion from the parliamentary party was agreed on as it means that she will not get a fourth chance as a Government backbencher to go against the coalition in a vote.

But the expulsion puts the TD and indeed her local branch in a tricky position when it comes to selecting a candidate to put on the party ticket in the next general election.

If the opposition have their way the country will have already gone to the polls ahead of Ms Hourigan's return to the fold. An autumn 2024 election has been widely tipped around the halls of Leinster House for a long time now. 

This scenario would only have her back in the party for a matter of months before an election, leaving her in limbo as campaigning ramped up, not to mention how a selection convention might play out.

Members of the party stressed that it will be the local organisation that selects the candidate and as a member of the party, Ms Hourigan is still entitled to be that candidate.

However, some pointed out that the decision ultimately rests with the party executive to approve all selected candidates.

The sanctions have therefore stored up a sticky pre-election conundrum for a party that has been known for handling issues in a chaotic manner that previously led to fracturing and dissent.

Of course, for Ms Hourigan, running as an Independent in Dublin's inner city in a constituency that already needs significant muscle to succeed in might actually go in her favour.

In the bright light of day, Green TDs and senators were standing by their decision. But after wielding the knife many of them refused to be drawn on how her 15-month suspension and removal from all committees, including one she chairs, was arrived at during the three-hour-long meeting immediately after Wednesday's vote.

The initial penalty put forward at the parliamentary party meeting by whip Marc Ó Cathasaigh was rejected by those in attendance.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh had recommended that Ms Hourigan be slapped with an indefinite suspension. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews

He had recommended that Ms Hourigan be slapped with an indefinite suspension.

While this sounded like a harsh punishment, his Oireachtas colleagues felt that it didn't go far enough as not putting a timeline on the suspension would technically permit the Dublin Central TD to apply to rejoin the party at any stage.

Debate on the length of suspension and the other measures went on for around two and a half hours until the 15-month ban was eventually arrived at.

"It's very long, but most people felt that it needed to be significant," said one member who present at the meeting.

"It was about how often do we have to be talking about this, people have a lot of work to get done, and it was distracting from that."

Discussions then continued for anther 30 minutes around how the issue might be communicated to Ms Hourigan as members were conscious that previous decisions had leaked in the media before those directly impacted were notified. In the end Mr Ó Cathasaigh and Brian Leddin delivered the verdict straight to Ms Hourigan.

Around Leinster House, politicians noted not the suspension but the fact that she had also been stripped of the chair of the Budgetary Oversight Committee and removed from all Oireachtas committees.

One PAC member said she has been "forensic" and "one of the strongest performers" on the committee.

Some grassroots members feel that the party has given too much ground to its coalition partners and this week's vote is another example of that.

"Eamon is caught between Micheál [Martin] and Leo [Varadkar] and the grassroots," said one local member, before adding that having served at Cabinet before, he knows he has a limited time to progress the policies that are at the core of the Green agenda.

"Neasa is one of the things he is willing to sacrifice to make it work."

The Government may have got through this week's eviction ban vote, but it has been another debacle that has again put the smallest party in the spotlight, for the wrong reasons.