John Gormley

Early and personal life

Born in Dublin, Gormley was educated in St Munchin's College, Limerick, University College Dublin and the University of Freiburg. Prior to entering full-time politics he ran an academy of European languages. He has held many positions in the Green Party including Campaign Director for the successful anti-smog campaign in the 1980s. He contested his first general election in 1989, in the Dublin South-East constituency, but was not elected. He also unsuccessfully contested the 1989 Seanad election and 1992 general election. In 1990 he wrote The Green Guide For Ireland, containing advice on how to live and campaign environmentally.

He lives in Ringsend with his wife, Penny, and their son and daughter.

Political life

In 1991 he was elected to Dublin City Council and was Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1994–95, the first Green Party councillor to serve as Lord Mayor. As Lord Mayor, he launched Dublin Gay Pride week in 1995.

Lord Mayor

He was the first Lord Mayor to launch Dublin Gay Pride week in 1995 (2), although his predecessor, Thomas Macgiolla had met with participants in the March in the previous year.

His Lord Mayor’s Commission on Cycling, which produced a report on Cycling in Dublin, was seen as a significant advance for cycling in the city.

He also helped with the introduction of Sli na Slainte a network of signposted walks for those seeking exercise to combat heart disease.

As part of the peace process he undertook a joint visit to the United States with the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Hugh Smyth of the PUP.

Gormley also welcomed Prince Charles to the Mansion House. He subsequently met with protestors against the visit of Charles and agreed to visit the site of the Bloody Sunday Memorial in Derry.

He was the first elected representative in Ireland to have an email address, and when launching a new Irish web site, the virtual Irish pub he predicted the massive growth of the internet.

Dail

At the 1997 general election, Gormley became the third Green candidate elected to Dáil Éireann – after a week-long re-count with Michael McDowell, which he won by 27 votes. Gormley and Trevor Sargent served as the only Green Party TDs between 1997 and 2002. He retained his seat at the 2002 general election, increasing his vote and taking the first seat in his constituency, though McDowell gained the most number of first preferences.

In the Dail, on 15 October 1998, after Gormley declared that the Greens were the only party not to take money from the banks, Brian Cowen called him ‘an incorrigible incorruptible’

In 1998 he spoke against the introduction of the Euro, stating that a monetary union without a fiscal union made no sense. In the same debate he predicted that the Euro could lead to the ‘disintegration of the Union’ because of ‘the rise of extreme elements in Europe’. In the same debate he accused the Finace Minister, Charlie Mc Creevey and the opposition of ‘overheating’ the economy.

In 2002, the business of the Dail was suspended in uproar when Gormley insisted on getting an answer to his question regarding a tax on plastic bags

He retained his seat at the 2002 general election, increasing his vote and taking the first seat in his constituency, though McDowell gained the most number of first preferences.

He was elected to the newly created post of party Cathaoirleach (chairperson) of the Green Party in 2002, and re-elected in late 2004 with 80% of the party vote. He proposed some of the major changes to the party structures such as the name change (from Green Alliance to Green Party); the need to have a party leader was suggested by Sargent.

On 16 May 2007, during the run up to the 2007 general election, Gormley emerged from a crowd of journalists to confront Michael McDowell while he was unveiling a poster saying 'Left Wing Government? No Thanks'. Gormley repeatedly requested McDowell to admit that the accompanying pamphlet on the matter was awash with lies. The incident fronted the evening's main news and the footage subsequently circulated on the Internet.

Gormley was re-elected at the 2007 general election, beating McDowell for the last seat by 304 votes. Following the election he led negotiations with Fianna Fáil on forming a government. The programme for government was approved by 86% of party members who attended a specially convened conference in Dublin's Mansion House, after which the party entered government for the first time. On 14 June 2007 he was named as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the new coalition.

Leader of Green Party

Following the general election of 2007, Trevor Sargent resigned as leader of the Green Party. The following leadership election was contested by Gormley and Patricia McKenna, and the Green Party announced that in the postal ballot he received 478 votes to McKenna's 263.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

As the new Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Gormley took over the responsibility for the decision to allow the excavation of national monuments near the historical site of the Hill of Tara to facilitate the construction of the M3 motorway. On his final day in office, outgoing minister Dick Roche signed an order which allowed a newly discovered National Monument at Lismullin near Tara to be studied and then destroyed to make way for the building of the motorway. Gormley stated that he was unable for legal reasons to reverse this order. Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe expressed his dissatisfaction with the former Minister Roche's decision and expressed his hope that Gormley could reverse it. Gormley appointed a long-standing critic of the M3 route, Dr. Conor Newman of NUIG, to oversee the archaeological work as part of a special committee on the Lismullen site. In 2009 the Tara-Skryne Valley was designated Ireland's first Landscape Conservation Area by Gormley, prohibiting shopping malls and retail parks from being constructed in the area.

In September 2007, he announced regulations introducing reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions for all new homes in new building regulations. New homes are to be 40% more energy efficient, which will reduce the carbon footprint of each house by 40% also. The new regulations are also set to make renewable energy mandatory for all new build homes.

In his leader's speech to the Green Party conference in April 2008, he provoked a walk-out of the Chinese Ambassador and diplomatic delegation by calling for solidarity with the people of Tibet and referring to Tibet as a nation.

On 6 March 2008, Gormley established a Referendum Commission for the first referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. The minister did not restore the original remit of the commission – to outline arguments for and against the referendum – however during the campaign against the first Treaty of Nice referendum by the Green Party, Gormley had praised the role of the commission in advancing the pros and cons of the treaty.

July 2008 saw changes to VRT and road tax which Gormley had brought about the previous year. The charges are now calculated on the basis of the carbon emissions of the vehicle. This had a dramatic effect according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland on the type of car sales that have occurred subsequently.

In November 2008, he announced new quality standards for rented accommodation which landlords would be obliged to follow. Additional funding for inspections and more severe penalties for landlords who provide substandard accommodation formed part of the initiative.

Gormley introduced a "Bike Scheme" in January 2009 which promoted cycling to work by offering tax incentives to employees and employers who purchased bicycles and switched to cycling. The scheme is part of a strategy to double the number of journeys made by bike by 2020, and also includes a multimillion-euro cycle-path upgrade plan.

In July 2009, Gormley introduced Non Principal Private Residence tax (NPPR), a tax on second homes and holiday homes, many of which were owned by people working abroad. It was a self declaration tax with no bills being issued to property owners, leaving many caught unaware. The scheme was abandoned in 2014 with first and final bills/letters being issued to home owners. Severe penalties were attached to these letters, a late payment charge which amounted to 600 per cent of the premium (€1,000). In 2014 home owners, of which a significant number were non-resident in Ireland, were facing NPPR penalties up to €7,230 which remains as a permanent charge on the property until fully paid. There was uproar about the size of the penalties, especially from people who live overseas and who say they knew nothing about the NPPR charge until they got these letters. Many feel the 600 per cent penalty charge to be unconstitutional and some have taken their case to the Ombudsman.

In 2010, Gormley made a Ministerial order, forcing councillors in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to revise a decision to rezone lands at The Park, Carrickmines (for retail development) during the framing of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown's County Development Plan late in 2009. The Council ultimately voted for the proposal that was advanced by Fine Gael Councillors Jim O'Leary (now resigned) and Barry Ward, but this decision was the subject of much criticism from John Gormley's Green Party colleague and local TD, Ciarán Cuffe. In March 2010, the Minister instructed the Council to reverse its decision.

In a close vote (with then Cathaoirleach Marie Baker exercising a casting a vote in favour of the Minister), the Council did change its decision, but the developer (Tristor Ltd.) took the Minister and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to the High Court. Mr Justice Frank Clarke eventually ruled on the case in November 2010, finding that Minister Gormley had exceeded his powers by ordering the Council to change its decision.

On 22 November 2010, he called for an election date to be fixed in the second half of January 2011 following the announcement of an EU financial rescue package for Ireland due to the ongoing financial crisis in the country. He resigned as Minister on 23 January 2011 when the Green Party withdrew from government.

2011 general election and aftermath

Gormley lost his seat at the 2011 general election on 25 February. He announced in an email to Green Party members on 20 March 2011 that he would not be seeking re-election as leader of the party. He was succeeded as party leader by Eamon Ryan on 27 May 2011.