Offaly Green leadership contender says party 'hurt people'

GREEN Party members will begin voting on Thursday on their preferred candidate to lead the party.

Voting, which will be done online, will then continue until Sunday and the result will be announced on Monday, July 8.

In a major appeal to party members in the second leadership hustings, Offaly contender Pippa Hackett conceded that people were "hurt" when the party implied they were leading bad lives by burning turf, using their car, eating meat, taking a flight and being a certain type of farmer.

That has to stop. We have to get back to the people, and understand their specific worries and concerns,” said Minister Hackett.

The Offaly-based senator was speaking online to Green Party members during the second hustings in the ongoing leadership contest.

Minister Hackett is opposing Minister Roderic O'Gorman for the position following the announcement by Minister Eamon Ryan last month that he is stepping down.

The Offaly farmer listed some words she had heard recently about the Green Party, including 'Out of Touch', 'Preachy', 'Judgemental', 'Dublin Centric' and 'Disconnected'.

She commented: “And these are not the words from right or left-wing extremists, these are the words from ordinary everyday people - across this country.

“'Sure, you couldn’t vote Green…' was another expression I heard frequently in the run up to the local and European elections.

“Despite the excellent characteristics and commitment from candidates up and down the country, people couldn’t see beyond the logo and the name, and so, many of our election candidates didn’t stand a chance.

“There’s a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that says: 'We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.'

“We have created an image problem, and anyone watching online who thinks otherwise is deluded.

“And yes, while many of the tropes that are out there are misinformed, unjustified, lazy characterisations of who we are and what we’re about, the fact is they’re out there and we have to oust them.

“Simply dismissing these negative impressions with an eyeroll will not dispel them, it will only harden them.”

She said she wanted to be leader to rebuild bridge and believed her “lived experience” will help her do that.

“I want to work collectively to dispel that air of defeatism about our electoral prospects, and replace it with a sense of renewed hope, energy and momentum,” said the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture.

“If we don’t heed our critics, if we don’t listen, then we cannot move the party onto a stronger footing for the remainder of this decade and beyond.”

Breaking into the Irish language, she went on: “Ní bheidh todhchaí againn ar an talamh seo muna théimid i ngleic le hathrú aeráide agus cailliúnt an nádúir.

“Ní féidir linn neamhaird a thabhairt air a thuilleadh – agus sin an fáth go bhfuil mé ag seasamh mar cheannaire an Chomhaontais Ghlais.”

She said addressing climate change and biodiversity loss is fundamental to the future of the earth and that is what is motivates her to run for the leadership.

She warned: “But we will achieve little if we don’t bring communities with us. At this period in time, I believe we need more focus on people, and less on policy.

“The policies are there, we’ve done extraordinary work to put them there, and now we have to make them work for people. Because not everyone is seeing or feeling their benefits.

“The Government’s Framework for Women’s Health in Ireland uses three simple words to describe how it will achieve its aims… Listen – Invest – Deliver.

“The Green Party must do the same. Listen to communities – invest in communities – deliver for communities.

“In parts of the country, people can’t see past turf. In other parts, it’s cycle lanes.

“There are bridges to be built across the whole of this island. I am as comfortable chatting to a farmer at the mart as I am with a woman going through the menopause.

“Whether it’s at the start or the finish line of a 5k race in Dublin or in the Midlands, on the GAA terraces for the Offaly under 20 hurlers’ incredible All Ireland win this summer; or in negotiations with Commissioners Timmermans and Sinkevicius over our Forestry Programme last year, I have the ability to connect, to listen, and to come up with practical solutions.

“If we want people to make change in their lives, we need to be relatable, and the change needs to be easy and affordable.

“Relatability is key for the Green Party in the future – because as I said the other day, there is no Green Transition without a Just Transition. If people feel unfairly targeted or blamed, then progress will be too slow, and it will be too late for us to turn the tide on climate change and nature loss.”

She concluded: “We can’t wait five or 10 years for the next Green wave to make us relevant again – we need to be relevant now, and I believe I am the person to do that.”

Minister Hackett and Mr O'Gorman, who is the Minister for Children and Integration, are the only two candidates in the contest for the position of leader.