2024 Green Party leadership election (Ireland)

The 2024 Green Party leadership election is a leadership election within Ireland's Green Party that is scheduled to be held on 8 July 2024, and after Eamon Ryan announced his intention to resign as party leader. Ryan, who has led the party since 2011, announced his resignation on 18 June 2024.

Background

At the 2024 European Parliament election and local elections held on 7 June, the Green Party lost both of its MEPs and half of its local councillors.

Ryan announced his resignation as party leader after the 18 June meeting of the cabinet. Ryan also announced his intention to resign from office as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport in the coalition government of which his party is a partner, and said he would relinquish both roles once the Green Party had elected a new leader. Ryan's resignation made him the second party leader in Ireland's coalition government to announce their resignation during 2024 following that of Leo Varadkar, who stepped down as leader of Fine Gael and as Taoiseach. Ryan said that the election results were not his reason for stepping down from the role, but that he had made the decision to do so several months earlier "for a variety of reasons including family commitments". Speaking on the 18 June edition of RTÉ's Six One News, he also confirmed he would not contest the next general election.

On 19 June, a meeting of the Green Party's executive committee set 8 July as the date for the leadership election.

Candidates

A number of Green Party TDs, including Malcolm Noonan, a junior minister in the coalition government, and Neasa Hourigan, TD for Dublin Central, ruled themselves out of running to replace Ryan.

Pippa Hackett is a farmer from County Offaly and has positioned herself to be the leader who can win support from farmers and rebuild trust with rural voters. All Green Party leaders to date have been from Dublin.

Roderic O'Gorman said he believed the party needed to broaden the focus on its policies beyond its climate and nature restoration, and that he would try to form a "progressive alliance" with Labour and the Social Democrats who are seen as centre-left. Hackett responded to O'Gorman via X by saying she would work with any party and that the Green Party was "not the SDLGP".

Deputy leadership election

Following Ryan's announcement, deputy leader Catherine Martin also confirmed she would step down from her post, but said she would continue her role as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and contest her Dáil seat in Dublin Rathdown at the next general election. An election for the deputy leadership will be held on 13 July.

Candidates

• Ossian Smyth, TD for Dún Laoghaire; Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
• Neasa Hourigan, TD for Dublin Central; former Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight
• Róisín Garvey, Senator

References