Incoming Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said the “party is united” after his appointment.

He defeated Senator Pippa Hackett by a margin of 72 votes in the leadership election today, which had a turnout of 55% from party members.

It followed longstanding leader Eamon Ryan’s resignation from the role last month after a poor local and European election campaign for the party.

On The Hard Shoulder today, Minister O’Gorman said he was honoured to win the election.

"I'm absolutely delighted to have been given this great honour by our party members and really humbled that they've put their faith, put their trust in me now in terms of succeeding Eamon as leader of the party,” he said.

“I'm really looking forward now to getting stuck into the work, continuing to deliver in Government, and preparing ourselves for the upcoming general election.

“The party is united, and we are proud of what we've achieved over the last four years in government.

“We want to demonstrate our long-term commitment to meeting climate objectives and making meaningful differences in people’s lives.”

Hate crime laws

The Integration Minister said hate crime laws are needed in Ireland.

“Last year, 651 people were victims of hate crimes in this country, and that's the ones that were reported,” he said.

“Minority communities are being targeted; this is a law-and-order issue.

“We are one of the very few countries that don’t have hate crime legislation, and it was supported by almost all parties in the Dáil only a couple of months ago.

“It's in the Seanad now, and I know Minister McEntee is looking to bring some amendments forward to provide reassurance and address concerns raised over the last few months.”

Main image: Roderic O’Gorman, Claire Byrne,  Catherine Martin, Eamon Ryan, Pippa Hackett. Image: Photograph: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

He also said he was happy with the Government and his Department’s response to the immigration crisis.

“We've done something that no other Irish government was ever asked to do, and we've accommodated numbers that people would never have thought possible,” he said.

“We need to ensure we have accommodation options for continuing arrivals, but we also need to move away from over-reliance on the private sector.

“We need a core of State-owned accommodation where we have more control over costs and locations.”

Portfolios

Minister O’Gorman indicated he does not plan to change the portfolios of party members.

“We have at most eight months left in this term of government,” he said.

“We have three Cabinet colleagues, Catherine [Martin], Eamon [Ryan], and Pippa [Hackett], who are performing magnificently within their departments.

“They know them inside out, understand the policy challenges, and are aware of the last pieces of legislation we aim to pass in the coming months.

“Similarly, our Ministers of State are performing well, so what we need right now is stability.”

You can listen back here:

Main image: Roderic O'Gorman in Newstalk studios today.