Hackett aims to be "a Green rural voice" in Seanad

Just over five months after being elected as the first-ever Green Party representative on Offaly County Council, Pippa Hackett will become a member of the Seanad from today (Friday).

The Geashill-based organic farmer was the only nominated candidate to fill a vacancy in the Upper House which had been created by Waterford's Grace O'Sullivan winning a seat on the European Parliament.And the whirlwind political journey of the Geashill-based organic farmer looks set to continue when she contests the next general election, which now appears likely to take place next May.

 "It's all going a bit quickly, isn't it?!" quipped Pippa when asked about her rapid elevation to the Oireachtas.

"I was delighted to get that (council) seat on the last count in May."The 'Green Wave' was an issue in that election but it was probably more of a phenomenon in urban areas rather than in rural areas. I was only just getting used to local politics, and I'm sad to leave it because my time there was quite short," she commented.

She said others in the Green Party had encouraged her to put herself forward in an internal contest to select a candidate for the Seanad seat held by O'Sullivan. After considering the idea, she decided to go for it and said she was delighted to be nominated by her party. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail said they wouldn't oppose her election to the Seanad, but she said she was a little bit surprised that the other parties also declined to put a representative forward for election.

A Mayo native and mother of four who is married to local man Mark Hackett, Pippa is the Green Party spokesperson on Agriculture, Food, Forestry, Heritage and Animal Welfare.Asked about the issues she plans to focus on as a Senator, she said: "I think having a Green rural voice in the Oireachtas is vital".

"I hope to be that rural voice, and I will be doing my best to raise Laois - Offaly issues as well, because John Whelan in Laois is the last Senator we've had."

She said it will take a certain amount of time to adjust to the new role.

"I followed Grace O'Sullivan's work as a Senator, but getting used to the day-to-day nitty gritty stuff will be a learning curve for me. I look forward to it and hopefully it will fit in well with all of the other things I'm interested in."

She said no decision has been taken as of yet on who will be co-opted to fill her seat in the Edenderry area of Offaly County Council, but an internal party process to fill the vacancy was likely to begin next week.