Green Party leader John Gormley has outlined a number of the party's achievements in Government in his opening address to the party conference tonight.
The party is set to debate a wide range of policy motions during its annual conference in Dundalk this weekend.
It is the party's first annual convention as a party of Government.
In his speech, Mr Gormley outlined a number of the party's achievements in Government, including reform of the car tax system, which will be fully implemented in July.
Mr Gormley told delegates that in 10 days he will be launching a Green Paper on local Government, which he hopes will deliver the biggest ever reform of local administration.
He said the paper provides for a directly-elected mayor of Dublin who will have real executive powers. This will include having control of waste policy, regional planning, housing water and other essential services.
He said the Green Paper also proposes a device to allow citizens to decide key policy directions. He told delegates there was no reason why people should not decide what the spending priorities should be in their communities.
Mr Gormley told delegates that he is examining a number of measures to strengthen planning laws - especially in the area of enforcement.
He said he is concerned that the ethics system governing local governments needs to be strengthened.
Mr Gormley said he will shortly be announcing an initiative to allow people to recycle batteries in supermarkets. He told delegates this initiative is long overdue.
Delegates are also hearing tonight from Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan of Marriage Equality Initiative, who are holding a question and answer session with a number of speakers.
Mr Gormley said the forthcoming Civil Partnership Bill may not contain everything the Green Party wanted but said it was a significant move in the right direction and would not have come about without his party's participation in Government.
Equality campaigner Ms Gilligan and her partner Katherine Zappone are pursuing a Supreme Court case for recognition of their Canadian marriage. She told delegates that marriage is about the freedom to choose to marry the person you love.
There are a wide range of policy motions down for debate tomorrow and on Sunday.
A number of motions are potentially controversial but less so since the Taoiseach's announcement that he is to stand down.
A motion from the party's Trinity College Dublin branch calling on all witnesses to comply fully with the Mahon Tribunal could have caused trouble for the leadership but is unlikely to do so now.
A motion from the Dublin mid-west branch, censuring the party's performance in Government for making 'very slow progress' is down for debate on Sunday and it is expected to be heavily defeated.
Mr Gormley's keynote address will be live tomorrow at 8.30pm on RTÉ.ie/live.
