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The Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu has said that requests for her to step aside as Green Party chairwoman should be handled by the party’s executive committee, not its group of TDs and Senators.
Her remarks come ahead of a meeting of the parliamentary party on Wednesday evening where three Senators have tabled a motion calling for Ms Chu to stand aside from her chairwoman role during her bid for a Seanad seat.
A previous motion of no confidence in Ms Chu put forward by Senators Pauline O’Reilly, Pippa Hackett and Róisín Garvey has been withdrawn from the agenda of the meeting.
The concession and a new motion calling for her to stand aside for the three weeks of the Seanad campaign is the result of an effort within the party to defuse the bitter internal row among the 16 TDs and Senators over Ms Chu’s decision to run for a seat in the upper house as an Independent.
However, Ms Chu has said that any request for her to stand aside, even temporarily, should be handled by the executive committee, not the parliamentary party.
She told The Irish Times: “As my position of Cathaoirleach of the party is mandated directly by the membership, any request for me to step down [even as a temporary measure] should properly come from the membership or via their representatives on the executive committee.
“Motions passed by other bodies of the party are not binding, and so any issues raised by the parliamentary party around my position as Cathaoirleach should be directed to the executive.”
Ms Chu’s decision to run angered some members of the parliamentary party. However, the motion of no confidence met an outraged response from supporters of Ms Chu – including deputy leader Catherine Martin.
Party leader Eamon Ryan has not spoken publicly about the matter or commented on comments by Ms Martin that he also asked for the motion of no confidence to be withdrawn.
Mr Ryan wanted the party’s TDs and Senators to support the candidates put forward by the other Coalition parties – Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – on the understanding that they would back a Green Party candidate if other vacancies arise.
Ms Martin joined others in the party in signing Ms Chu’s nomination papers which have allowed the Lord Mayor of Dublin to run as an Independent.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Ms Martin denied the move on her part was about unfinished business relating to the leadership contest where she lost out to Mr Ryan.
She insisted that contest is “over” and she is united with the Green Party in seeking to implement the Programme for Government.
Ms Martin said her decision to nominate Ms Chu was because: “I’m a woman in politics, who has spent her life supporting, helping women to get into politics.
“To say no to a woman who seeks a nomination, that simply wouldn’t make sense to me.”