UP TO 300 Green Party members are to meet in Dublin today to review its disastrous election performance and assess options for the future.
The meeting, billed as an informal think-in, has been called by members of the party’s national executive and takes place in private in a Dublin hotel.
The Green Party lost all six of its Dáil seats in last month’s election and polled so badly that it is no longer eligible for State funding. Its leader, John Gormley, has indicated his intention to stand down.
The party, which once employed 30 people, now has a staff of about a dozen and this is to be pared down further in coming months.
Today’s meeting is likely to see debate among members on the future political role of the party, with some expected to argue that the Greens should step back from the political arena in order to consolidate at grassroots level, at least for the moment.
There are also divergent views on the future leadership of the party. Some members argue that the Greens need a new leader from outside the established hierarchy of the party. Others contend it needs the experience and contacts a former member of the Oireachtas could bring to the role.
Decisions on the leadership will not be made until a national conference in May or June but although the issue will not be discussed today, the meeting is likely to shape internal thinking on future strategy.
Party chairman Senator Dan Boyle said yesterday the Greens would have to go back to basics, because of the outcome of the election and because it did not have the resources to go on as before. However, he predicted the role of the party in the last government would come to be re-evaluated in time. The overall membership of the Greens is estimated at 1,600.