|
|
Trevor Sargent
|
The Green Party has elected North Dublin TD Mr Trevor Sargent as its first leader.
Mr Sargent won the election over Mr Niall O Brolcháin, candidate in the Galway West constituency and south Dublin county councillor Mr Paul Gogarty by a comfortable majority.
Carlow councillor Mary White has been elected deputy leader - her candidacy was uncontested.
|
|
Paul Gogarty
|
|
|
Niall O Brolchain
|
Following his election he expressed his confidence that the party would make significant gains in the next election.
In his acceptance speech Mr Sargent said today was historical and challenging for the party.
He said: "Having examined our structures, changed our Party Constitution and now elected a Leader, let us now take our message of thinking globally and acting locally to every person in Ireland outside of this room."
The party had previously demurred from having a leadership structure, instead followed a model of collective decision-making at local level. But the need to increase its profile and improve party discipline prompted the party to change its structure.
Mr Sargent said his election comes at a time of international turmoil and tragedy, pledging party support to legitimate efforts to bring those behind the US attack on September 11th to justice.
But he said the party would not support any attempt to fight terror with terror, and condemned the Government for handing over without any conditions and without the assent of Dáil Éireann the use of Irish airports for refuelling foreign military aircraft.
He said the party would seek an end to the dual mandate and a referendum requesting that neutrality be enshrined in the Constitution.
In domestic policy, Mr Sargent said it was the party’s job to minimise the "vulnerability and inequality which the policies of other parties have created".
He said the parties "shopping list" would also include:
- to expand health services to provide free GP care for all
- an insistence that research be carried out to ensure that sustainable and quality of life indicators are included in economic measurements
- that there be a requirement that all social welfare payments be linked to 50% of average household incomes
- a restructuring of the health service with the Department. of Health introducing a new Junior Ministry for Medicine and Healthy Living and a ban on fluoridation
- legislation to provide security of tenure, reasonable rents and standards of accommodation,
- the setting up of a network of State-funded childcare centres
- the setting up of a national homeless agency called Dideán
- proper resourcing and restructuring of the Environmental Protection Agency and Dúchas,
- a new Department of Consumer Affairs
- prioritisation of public transport investment
The new party leader also pledged to continue the peaceful protest to have Britain’s nuclear power station Sellafield closed, and "until nuclear reprocessing and MOX are halted and the waste safely stored".