Ryan open to coalition with Sinn Féin after next election

The Green Party would not rule out being part of a future Sinn Féin-led coalition, according to party leader Eamon Ryan.

Ryan, who was speaking at the party convention in Cork at the weekend, admitted that negotiating a “sufficiently eco-friendly” coalition agreement with Sinn Féin could prove “challenging,” but was open to the idea.

Furthermore, Ryan said the Greens would be open to a third stint in a coalition regardless of who led the next Government.

Ryan repeated his comments from the end of September, when he told the Irish Independent “it’s all very well being in favour of the nice things and against all the bad things and we’ve money for all the nice things without actually having the money” when asked about the prospect of becoming a coalition partner with Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin opened negotiation talks with the Greens and the Social Democrats following the 2020 general election, but the talks quickly ended after their combined seat count was well short of a majority.

Ryan said that his party has dropped in the polls due to the temptation to “shoot the messenger” with regards to climate change, but said he was confident that his party would fare well in next year’s local elections.

The Greens’ strong performance in the 2019 local elections foreshadowed their best-ever performance at the 2020 general election, where they saw a record 12 TDS elected.

In recent months however, the party has dropped in the polls, becoming overshadowed by the Social Democrats as the party of choice for undecided progressive voters, and reflecting similar poll slippage that has occurred to other Green parties in government across Europe such as Germany, Austria, Finland, and Sweden.

The prospect of the Green Party returning 12 TDs appears unlikely based on current polling, but the prospect of a Sinn Féin-led government appears equally unlikely based on current numbers.

Sinn Féin has regularly seen itself poll above 35% in recent opinion polls, but the most recent Dáil constituency reviews mean that 88 is now the magic number for a party to secure a majority.

Ryan topped the poll in his own Dublin Bay South in 2020, but the next election will see him fight off against a Sinn Féin that will look to include a running mate for Chris Andrews, Fianna Fáil man Jim O’Callaghan fight for his political future, and Labour leader Ivana Bacik looking to keep her seat that she won in the 2021 by-election.

The prospect of Sinn Féin cannibalising smaller parties of the left has become apparent in recent polling, and as such, the prospect of the Greens returning to Government, albeit with reduced seats, is now a distinct possibility.

Speaking at the convention, Ryan spoke of the “unprecedented” weather events of the last year and stressed the need for a collective and unified response.

“The weather systems have gone off the charts and that’s truly frightening,” he said.

He hit back at accusations that the Greens are opponents of motorists or farmers, saying that he regarded farmers as the “front-line heroes” of Ireland’s transition to a more sustainable economy and environment.

When asked by reporters if the Greens would return to Government again, Ryan said “I think we should go into government because I think it’s not a time for sitting on the bench.”

“It’s time for action this decade, particularly historically important that we make the change this decade so yes, I think we should be willing to work with all parties.”

“There will be difficult programme for Government negotiations because to be honest, Sinn Féin haven’t shown an interest in protecting the environment to the extent that we think is appropriate, but we’ll sit down with them and try and make that happen.”