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Internal divisions within the Green Party over Hazel Chu’s Seanad bid are set to intensify after three Senators indicated they will raise questions about ongoing confidence in her role of party chairperson later on Wednesday.
Minister of State Pippa Hackett, Senator Pauline O’Reilly and Senator Róisín Garvey have jointly table items for the agenda of the party’s weekly meeting of TDs questioning the decision by Ms Chu, who is Lord Mayor of Dublin, to run as an Independent candidate in next month’s Seanad byelections
The first item that they have put on the agenda is whether or not the party has confidence in Ms Chu as chair of the party following her decision to run as an Independent candidate.
The second is a request asking all of the 16-strong parliamentary party to support the two Government candidates in the two byelections.
The third question that the three Senators will raise concerns Ms Chu’s decision to run as an Independent candidate and whether or not it is compatible with her being chair of the party.
Separately, it is also understood that a constituency group, as yet unnamed, written to the national executive of the party seeking to request Ms Chu to stand aside as chair.
Party whip
Earlier on Wednesday, Ms Chu said she would “most likely” take the Green Party whip if elected as a senator in the byelections for the Upper House next month.
Ms Chu will stand as an independent candidate after securing the required nine nominations to stand for the vacancy on the Industrial and Commercial Panel.
The Green Party councillor indicated she had made the decision to run as an independent because of the importance of candidates who were women, and candidates from diverse backgrounds, to be included on the ballot paper.
At the launch of her campaign in St Stephen’s Green on Wednesday Ms Chu said: “I have made it very clear for 18 months now that there needs to be people of all backgrounds on ballots and I made that very clear to my leadership and executive as well.”
Asked about her political fealty if she won the seat she said: “If I am still a member I would most likely take the whip..
“I will still be a member. I am running as a person not endorsed by the Green Party. I will still be a member. If I get elected that conversation would need to happen.”
Her candidacy has divided the 16-strong parliamentary party. Six of its 16 TDs, including Deputy Leader Catherine Martin, support the party running a candidate. However a majority of 10 opposed the proposal and say the party should have no candidate in the byelection.
Likewise, the party’s executive council also did not agree to holding a selection convention to select a candidate.
However, because the required two-thirds majority was not reached in any of the fora, it meant there was no whipped decision, and therefore no bar on Ms Chu running as an independent candidate.
She also emphasised there was no agreement or pact in place between the Greens on the one hand, and Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on the other. She said the only pact in place was between the other two Coalition parties and the Greens were not party to it.
Asked if the other parties would blame her candidacy if one or both of its candidates did not succeed, she said: “Having the other two parties blaming us would be kind of bad form because we were not in the pact. This is why.
“There was no pact. There was no whip. There was no prevention of anybody from running,” she said.
Ms Chu did say there was a faint possibility of her losing the chair of the party, and of possibly no longer being a member, but said the chances of either happening were slim.
Green party leadership
Asked is she was disappointed party leader Eamon Ryan had said he would vote for a Government candidate, Ms Chu said no: “I am delighted to even get on the ballot. I know that seems ridiculous. It was impossible the last time to even get on the ballot. It’s mainly men and nobody of diversity (on the ballot paper).”
She said she had confidence in Mr Ryan as party leader but when asked if she would back Mr Ryan or Ms Martin in a leadership contest after the next election, she said: “It depends when the next election is. I think that 15 years at that stage will be a very long time with the same person.”
Ms Chu contended there was a lot less unhappiness internally than had been portrayed. “There has been a huge amount of support and I am very grateful for that.
She said that other candidates had contested Seanad elections in the past independent of their parties and had then accepted the whip. Senator Ivana Bacik of Labour has been an example of that in the past.
One of the six Green TDs who nominated Ms Chu, Francis Noel Duffy, issued a statement of support on Wednesday. “I am very proud to nominate (Ms Chu), a woman of colour to contest the Seanad by-election,” said the Deputy for Dublin South West.
“I have done this considering the Green Party does not have a coalition pact, nor direction from our PP or Executive Committee with respect to nominating a candidate, and the vacant seat was not held by the government.
“One of the first Green party Ministerial remits in government and held by minister of state Mary White TD was Equality, Human Rights and Integration. Within the spirit of her ministry and the party’s ethos that advocates equality, diversity and most importantly supporting women who wish to contest elections. I am delighted to nominate Councillor Chu,” he said.
The other candidates who have been nominated for the two seats are: Billy Lawless (Independent); Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fáil); and Ciaran Ahern (Labour) on the Industrial and Commercial Panel; and Angela Feeney (Labour) Ian Marshall (Independent); and Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) on the agricultural panel.