AFTER A BRUISING general election, the Green Party is “disappointed” but “determined”, according to the party leader Roderic O’Gorman.

The election was a real blow for the Green Party. After winning 12 seats in the 2020 election, its best ever result, it only managed to keep one seat in 2024.

The Green Party in Leinster House is to be a one-man band, with O’Gorman being the sole Green TD in the 34th Dáil.

At the party’s annual conference today, O’Gorman will not be flying solo, and will instead be joined by 300 party members. 

Taking place in Castleknock, the convention will be a chance for the party to regroup, reset and rebuild over the next five years. 

So what is the mood in the party?

O’Gorman tells The Journal that the party members are “extremely disappointed” with how the election turned out, but they are proud of what they achieved in government. 

‘We knew the risks’ 

“People knew there was a risk going in [to government], and we’ve seen the consequences of that risk. I suppose people also see the fact that other centre-left parties have stepped away from talks. That was a point that we were making throughout, that the Greens is the party that is prepared to take the risk, to go into government, to deliver on these sort of policies,” he said. 

O’Gorman said he will outline in his speech today the steps that need to be taken to start the process of rebuilding the party.

Yesterday, the Social Democrats, who have all but walked away from the prospect of entering into government, released a statement saying there must be no watering down of climate action ambitions in the new programme for government. 

What does O’Gorman make of such statements from the SocDems?

O’Gorman told The Journal “the only place you can protect those sort of initiatives and indeed increase their ambition is in government”. 

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“I have a real worry about a government supported by Independents are going to do. I think we’ve already heard the kind of briefings about cutting the budget from big public transport projects and moving it over to to localised roads projects.

“I have a real nervousness about what the next government are going to do,” said O’Gorman. 

The Green Party still has an important role to play in Irish politics, he said, adding:

“We’re in the Dáil, we’ll hopefully be in the Seanad, and we have strong councillors around the country. So, we have strong foundations and will rebuild the party from the ground up.

“We topped the poll in the locals across Dublin because people recognise the effectiveness of the Green Party at a local level. Someone will have to hold the next government to account on climate action and that someone is us.”

The convention today will contain a range of panel discussions where representatives and members will discuss the most important issues facing the party. There will be conversations on the party’s work in rural Ireland, the impact councillors can make and holding the government to account.