Cllr.

Hazel Chu

A Chara,

I am honoured to be elected recently as the new Deputy Leader for the Green Party.

Members were clear that they want a Green Party that speaks plainly, organises relentlessly, and delivers real change.

Now more than ever, the Greens are needed. We are no longer just seeing the impacts of climate change on our screens but our communities are living through the escalating impacts of inaction. Successive storms have left homes flooded, businesses damaged, farmland saturated, and local infrastructure under strain. The cost is immense and it is rising. Storm Chandra, like Storms Darragh and Éowyn before it, has reminded us that the impacts of climate change will be far more costly than delivering the climate action needed to limit man-made global temperature increases. As we deal with the clean-up from recent floods we need to ensure that climate action, nature restoration and social justice are embedded across all government policy. Climate action and nature restoration is not optional. It is flood protection. It is water quality. It is food security. It is resilience.

While we are the party of the environment we must also meet voters where they are at, people don’t experience politics in silos. The same voters who care deeply about climate and nature are struggling to secure an affordable home, waiting months for hospital appointments, and feeling the squeeze every time they open a bill. Our task is to show that climate action is not separate from the housing crisis, healthcare pressures or the cost of living, it is part of the solution and it is not a choice of either or.

This Government has shown its failure in tackling the above and more. When others row back, we must press forward.

I look forward to working together with you on the challenges we face ahead. The challenges are serious, but so is our resolve. Join us today to help fight back. Ní neart go cur le chéile.

Is mise le meas.
Hazel
Deputy Leader