Green Party group call Chairperson Hazel Chu’s position ‘untenable’ within party

The Galway branch of the Green Party have written a letter to Chairperson Hazel Chu, saying that her position within the party is “untenable”.

A motion of no confidence in the Dublin Lord Mayor was deferred to a future parliamentary party last night.

Three senators, namely Minister of State Pippa Hackett and Senators Pauline O’Reilly and Roisin Garvey, tabled three motions, including one expressing no confidence in the Chair.

This comes after Cllr Chu launched her official bid for a seat on the Seanad’s Commercial and Industrial panel yesterday, which she will be running for as an Independent, having failed to secure the backing of her party.

The letter was sent from Galway Greens, Senator O’Reilly’s local Green Party branch. The Senator is the Green Party leader in the Seanad.

Writing to Cllr Chu, Chair of Galway Greens Eoin Madden says that she has made “an excellent contribution” to the party, Dublin city and Irish society.

“Her decision to run outside the Selection Convention process makes her position as chair untenable,” he writes.

“We ask the National Executive to request the Chair to step down, in the first instance, or remove the Chair.”

He writes that it is “inappropriate” for the party chair, who is also chair of the Electoral Task Force within the Green Party, to seek nominations in this Seanad by election.

“We understand that the Chair has gone against the internal processes and electoral strategy of the party,” he added.

The letter also asks for Cllr Chu to forward it on to all members of the National Executive.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett called Ms Chu’s decision to run as an independent “deeply divisive” last night in a letter to her Laois-Offaly constituents.

She wrote that her bid “not only undermines her role as chair of the Party, but also our position in Government.”

Senator Hackett said that in previous times, members who ran as Independents were asked to leave the party.

“She has gone against the wishes of the both the PP and the EC by seeking a nomination. Many of us feel this makes her position untenable,” she wrote.

Online Editors