THE GREEN PARTY is holding a national conference next weekend, as the party continues to gear up for local and European elections.

Over 200 attendees are expected to attend the event at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin.

A range of topics will be up for discussion, with the main event next Friday evening being a public debate under the heading of “Dublin vs. The Rest. How do we plan for balanced recovery across the country?”, chaired by Irish Times journalist Frank McDonald.

A Women For Election workshop with Niamh Gallagher is also on the schedule.

Keynote speech

The following Saturday will be split into sessions on topics such as local economy and new candidates, with party leader Eamon Ryan making his keynote speech at 5.30pm.

A leaflet drop is planned for Sunday morning.

The party recently announced its intention to run candidates in local and European elections after the party was wiped out in the 2011 General Election.

In an interview with TheJournal.ie, Ryan said he has been “in a rebuilding exercise ever since”.

“It’s not unusual, a lot of our green colleagues when they went into government have lost their seats,” he pointed out, referencing the Belgian, Swedish and Czech greens who all has similar experiences.

Eamon Ryan: It wasn’t too difficult dusting myself down and getting back >

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