food in the event of a supply crisis that went viral online, saying, "we'll have our salads ready to go!" In June 2020, he was criticised online, particularly by Green Party councillors, for his use of the phrase "you nigger" when quoting director Sean Gallen on his experiences of racism. Gallen himself said that Ryan's intentions were "really good" as he tried "to bring up this big issue of racism within an Irish context". Ryan publicly apologised the same day as the speech. Government: 2020–present On 27 June 2020, following 139 days of negotiations, the members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party all voted in favour of entering government together as a coalition. There had been concern that the proposal would not be accepted by the Green members, as the proposal required that it pass with 66% of the members in favour it. However, in the end 76% of the Green Party membership voted in favour of the deal. The Irish Times journalist Pat Leahy described the vote to enter government as "vindication" for Ryan's leadership of the party and suggested it would strengthen his hand in the subsequent Green Party leadership contest. Green Party rules require a leadership election within 6 months of a general election in Ireland. Ryan sought re-election, and Deputy Leader Catherine Martin also contested the position, leading to the 2020 Green Party leadership election. Ryan was considered to represent the moderate "Old Guard" who were in favour of entering government while Martin was considered to represent younger, more radical Green party members apprehensive about working with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. On entering the government, Ryan was appointed as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport. On 23 July 2020, Ryan was re-elected as Green Party leader, defeating deputy leader Catherine Martin by 994 votes (51.24%) to 946 (48.76%). In June 2021, Ryan received the Green Leader Award. On 6 November 2021, Ryan cancelled his trip to the COP26 conference in Glasgow after testing positive for COVID-19. The next day, it was confirmed that he tested negative after taking a second test and would now travel to COP26. On 19 December, Ryan began self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. On 13 June 2022, Ryan tested positive for COVID-19 a second time. On 17 December 2022, he was re-appointed to the same positions following Leo Varadkar's appointment as Taoiseach.