TOURISM MINISTER CATHERINE Martin will tell her Green Party members today that it has been a tough few months for the party, despite its election successes.
The Green Party’s online convention is taking place today, under the theme ‘Ours For the Making’.
Martin, the deputy leader of the party, will say that though there was division after the programme for government was agreed, there is now a need for collegiality.
She will tell members that the Green Party “must keep fighting, campaigning, agitating for green change, green values, at every level from the European Parliament and the Cabinet table, to every single community right across this island – north and south, east and west”.
She will also talk about making this “a decade of change”, moving away from fossil fuels, towards a clean energy base.
In her speech, she will insist that as we do this, “it is vital that we protect the most vulnerable in our society. This transition must centre on the benefits for people and communities”.
Martin will remind members that “there can be no real climate action without social justice”. She will also tell members that the Green Party is not a single-issue party, but unfortunately, many others might not know or appreciate this.
She will say:
“We need to look beyond GDP – at poverty and income inequality, asking questions about success that focus on whether we are being fair to everyone, are we reducing inequality?”
Martin, who is a native of Co Monaghan, will also relay the close relationship the party needs to have with rural Ireland.
“We need to respect, value and protect rural Ireland, and this can only take place in partnership, in close consultation and collaboration with rural Ireland. The Green Party and rural Ireland have so much in common but this incredibly important relationship has, to date, not been utilised properly. This must change.”
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