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04 Mar 2026
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04 Mar 2026
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Former Waterford councillor Cristíona Kiely
A former Waterford Green Party councillor has said that climate change is no longer “to the fore” of Irish politics.
Catriona Kiely, who is the current Chair of the Green Party National Executive, was a councillor for Tramore-Waterford City West from 2021 to 2024.
She described to RTÉ News how the focus has moved away from climate change in recent years.
Ms Kiely stated: “In Dublin in 2019, we had 40,000 people marching on the streets for climate.
“That’s changed - other issues obviously have emerged and they’re to the fore at the moment but I suppose it’s everywhere. We can’t walk away from it.”
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However, she insisted that recent storms show that climate change must remain a top priority in Irish politics.
“The recent flooding, the recent storms, we’ve had severe flooding. The communities that have been impacted by the severe flooding, they can’t walk away from it so we have to keep it to the front of the agenda.
“Everything has to be looked at through the climate lens. We have to solve all of the other problems as well, but meanwhile, climate change has to be in the background at all times.”
Ms Kiely was speaking following the conclusion of the Green Party’s annual conference, which was held in Kilkenny on March 1.
At the conference, party leader Roderic O’Gorman expressed hope for the future of the party, pointing to the recent rise of the Green Party in the UK.
However, he admitted the party had a lot of rebuilding to do, having lost 11 of its 12 seats in the last general election.
One of those seats belonged to former Waterford TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh, who Ms Kiely was a parliamentary assistant to.
Ms Kiely was co-opted onto Waterford City and County Council in 2021, following the resignation of former councillor Susan Gallagher.
However, she and her party colleague, former councillor Jody Power, both lost their seats in the 2024 local elections.
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