Green leader Ryan to make comeback in new constituency

Eamon Ryan

By Paul Healy

GREEN Party leader Eamon Ryan will make his bid to return from the political wilderness in his predecessor John Gormley's old constituency.

Former minister Mr Ryan - who lost his seat in the 2011 wipe-out of his party - will contest the general election in Dublin Bay South.

Speaking to the Herald, he denied that he made the move over fears that he couldn't secure a seat in his old Dublin South constituency.

Instead, he insisted he was making way for deputy leader Catherine Martin to run in the area.

Now called Dublin Rathdown, the boundaries in Mr Ryan's former constituency have been redrawn and the number of seats reduced from five to three.

Several high-profile TDs, including Independent Shane Ross, Labour minister Alex White and former Fine Gael minister Alan Shatter, will likely vie for seats in the scaled-down constituency.

Asked if he is moving because he thought it would be too difficult to get elected in his old stomping ground, Mr Ryan replied: "I wouldn't think that."

"The only reason that I moved is because our party has a councillor in Dundrum, Catherine Martin, who will be running in that constituency.

"If I ran there then she wouldn't," he said.

Dublin Bay South, formerly Dublin South-East, is former party leader and Tanaiste Mr Gormley's old constituency.

concedes

Mr Ryan said he grew up in the area and that it's "much more home" than Dublin South.

With rivals like TD Lucinda Creighton as well as likely candidates Chris Andrews of Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail's Jim O'Callaghan, he concedes it may not be easy to get elected there either.

"It is not easy to get elected.

"There may be some very high-profile candidates but I think that it is wide open. Nothing is certain," Mr Ryan said.

The former communications minister is seeking to rebuild the Green Party after their coalition with Fianna Fail was booted out of power amid the collapse of the economy and the Troika bailout.

"I am looking forward to being part of the team of candidates who will be running across the country, seeking to return a Green voice to Dail Eireann," Mr Ryan said.

"We have a proud record of serving the Irish people at every level of Irish politics and a tradition of thinking globally and acting locally.

"That perspective has been missing from our parliament for the last four years," he said.

hnews@herald.ie