Hazel Chu role as chair of Green Party executive committee ends

Cllr Hazel Chu has announced her role of chair of the Green Party will shortly come to an end.

Cllr Chu, who is the former lord mayor of Dublin and a councillor for the party, had been chair of the party for two years.

She previously held the role of national co-ordinator for the party and became the Cathaoirleach in 2019. She was elected to the council as a first time candidate in the 2019 local elections.

Cllr Chu was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in June 2020 and was succeeded in the role by Alison Gilliland.

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In a post on Twitter on Tuesday night, Cllr Chu said she was “privileged in my terms to help us go from minimal reps to returning 48 Cllrs, 12 TDs, 4 Senators, 2 MEPs.”

“My roles had been full of incredible highs & difficult challenges, through it all it was an honour to represent the members voices & ensure they were always heard,” her Twitter post read.

She said her term as cathaoirleach was ending which was why she had decided to step down, after five years with the party in numerous roles. She said it had been “an honour” to serve as national co-ordinator and then as elected chair.

She was “delighted to oversee the party during a period of historic growth, ensuring that we had representation across local and national government at a figure we’ve never seen before,” she told The Irish Times.

“Steering a party while in Government has been challenging but incredibly rewarding.” She “looked forward to supporting members in different ways in the future”.

In her Twitter post, Cllr Chu thanked the party leaders, its executive and its staff for their support.

“Most of all I would like to thank our members, many putting in many hours of volunteering that got us to where we are. I wish our new Cathaoirleach and new Executive the very best of luck,” she said.

In April, tensions arose within the party after Cllr Chu decided to stand for the Seanad byelection as an Independent. However, the executive committee decided not to follow the majority of the parliamentary party in calling for her to step aside as party chair at the time during her bid for a Seanad seat.

Instead, it ordered a review of how Seanad byelection candidates are selected.

In a statement to members at the time, the committee said it believed the review would “allow us to move on from recent events, while ensuring that any such incidents are avoided in future”.

Cllr Chu oversaw the party strategy and electoral strategy for the Greens in her role as chair and said she was now "delighted to hand over the reins to another female chair".

Senator Pauline O’Reilly will be the new Cathaoirleach of the party.