‘Experience with FG has taught me a lot’ says Independent Verona
AFTER SOME DEFINING MOMENTS DURING LAST YEAR’S BY-ELECTION, VERONA MURPHY TELLS CATHY LEE WHAT HAS SHAPED HER LIFE
‘MY aim is to represent the voice of people in rural Wexford and I’m still for the same issues. My political alignment is with the issues that I’m representing. I didn’t change, I am the same person.’
The words of a defiant Verona Murphy, contesting the general election as an Independent after a bruising by-election run for Fine Gael in November. Then ‘local and vocal’, the message on her posters now reads ‘capable, committeed and consistent’.
As we sit down over a cup of tea to talk about the journey so far, personally and politically, she assures me that despite recent challenges, she hasn’t changed as a person, and her motivation for politics is as clear as ever.
‘Obviously the experience with Fine Gael has taught me a lot, and I know now that I am not suitable for a mainstream party. People are a bit sick of the monotone parties, whether they’re left or right, you get the same monotone attitude.
‘I can represent as an independent voice without a fear of favour, I have the ability and the energy’.
Asking about where her ability to dust herself off and come back fighting comes from, Verona explains that it all began in rural south Wexford.
‘I’m one of 11 children and I’m number seven, of six boys and five girls. My mam and dad were farmers and livestock dealers, I was raised in Ramsgrange and spent my earlier 13 years there going to school.
‘Growing up was great. We had a huge family and the neighbours were another huge family, so we had plenty to play with when there was free time. It was a very different society then.
‘People remember when we were out playing, you didn’t come home until you were hungry. It’s very different. We walked to school, to GAA practises, whatever we were doing.
‘From that time, a work ethic has been instilled in me. We were raised that everybody had to help, there was that much to be done. Whether you were testing cattle or picking strawberries. I babysat for the neighbours, you were paid but it was more that if you were asked to do it you did it, that was it’.
Things took a turn in a different direction for Verona when she left home in her teens.
‘I got involved in a relationship with a much older man and obviously my parents didn’t agree, it wasn’t a happy atmosphere. I was told I couldn’t see him, so I left home.
‘It was something that wouldn’t be done in those days. Leaving that young and not having a relationship with my family then, when I look back on it now it was very difficult, immediately I had to fend for myself.
‘This wasn’t a problem because of the way I was reared, but I was very lonely having left my family. My ex partner had a business and I worked there, I went to school for a short time and worked in the evenings, but ultimately, it didn’t work out.
‘When we had our falling out, I went to England and lived with my brother. He got me a job in the UK with a Vauxhall car company, and I got a job myself with McDonalds, one of the best jobs I ever had.
‘I worked 20 hours a day, making loads of money at the time and there was a freedom to it. In the UK you didn’t have the neighbours wondering who you were and what you were doing, but I was still only coming to 16 or 17 years of age’.
Verona returned to Ireland shortly after this, and started back into the same relationship.
‘It would have dented my confidence the second time and I found it much harder to get away. I had a sense that there was something wrong but it’s like any abusive relationship, you don’t know how to get yourself out of it. I had no money of my own, I had nowhere to go’.
When she did get away from this situation, there were new challenges to come which ultimately shaped her career path, reaching a turning point starting her own business.
‘I was homeless for a while, so I had to find myself somewhere to live. I got that sorted and was working all the time, but I thought then I could do this for myself. That’s when I settled myself and bought my own truck.
‘I went to a bank manager to ask if he’d lend me the money. I was only 21 but he had a daughter the same age as me. He was a gentleman and gave me the €100,000 to buy a truck and a trailer. He gave me a €20,000 overdraft and I never missed a payment’.
At the same time, Verona was on the cusp of rekindling a relationship with her family.
‘I had to take huge steps to do that. In a small rural area, there was an awful lot of damage caused. People were saying things like they always do, things that weren’t true.
‘But primarily it was my mam and dad. Once they could see that I was genuinely standing on my own two feet, the relationship had ended, they were quite happy and they supported me.
‘Then I got pregnant, 25 years ago now. It was still a time when being pregnant when you weren’t married wasn’t acceptable. People who were raised as strong Catholics didn’t agree. But by now I was 23 and running a business. In my mind I had a lot of life experience.
‘Money wise I was going to be able to stand on my own. But there would have been conversations about what are you going to do. Basically nine months flew by, Robyn was born and she was the apple of everybody’s eye and I got huge support.
‘When a child comes along, you have a whole new set of emotions. I was thinking how I am going to do this on my own, run a business and who’s going to mind her?
‘But I found a child carer, she started the crèche at three and God love her for most of six months she spent it in the car with me.
‘It made me stronger and she definitely had a different upbringing to most. She has the broad sense of fend for yourself, and if you don’t do it for yourself, you can’t expect everybody to do it for you’.
As Robyn grew up and entered into her teenage years, Verona came to realise that there were traumas in her past that she hadn’t dealt with.
‘On a personal level at that time, I started to feel very vulnerable. I was resonating her age with my age, having left home. I found that period very difficult.
‘Academically I was performing – I had gone back to do my Leaving Cert, was going to college to study law and Robyn was in school. But mentally, I wasn’t very good.
‘The longer it went on, I couldn’t cope emotionally, even though I was physically able to do everything. My sister encouraged me to go to counselling, but at the time I didn’t see any value in that. People who don’t go never do, but you have to want to go yourself. Ultimately, it came to a point where I wasn’t able to function, I was crying in public places.
‘I went for counselling for eight years, and as I went through this very hard time personally, it wouldn’t have appeared publicly.
‘But it helped me greatly, even with Robyn, it helped me understand that what happened with me then was not going to happen with her. I had a build up of that fear, it was a long journey in that regard.
‘During that time, I ran the business and did my degree at nighttime, getting the degree gave me confidence again’.
Following the difficulty of last year’s election and a so called ‘character assassination’ by some sections of the media, Verona believes that counselling gave her the tools of resilience that has stayed with her.
‘Counselling would have had a huge impact on me in dealing with any situation. You’ve always got it at the back of your mind, that the people who care don’t matter and those who matter, don’t care. Counselling gives you the tools to be mentally strong, to keep your balance right.
‘From the last campaign, I’ve learned that I’m too trusting of people. I am going to have to be a little more careful in that regard.
‘It was different to what I’m used to but I had the capacity to deal with it. Between the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) or my own business, I’m really too busy to find it tough and I just get on with it. I don’t think what happened last year has phased people, I say turn the page and move on’.
Reflecting on Fine Gael, Verona said she was not a fit for the structure within the party.
‘I met wonderful people, there are good people within that structure who feel the same as me. But I’m a broad church, I thought Fine Gael were a broad church but they’re not as it turns out.
‘People want change, they are sick of the monotone that they get from Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour.
‘Quite obviously people in Fine Gael are resistant to coming forward, but I’m confident that I will get a Fine Gael vote. Nobody has contacted me to say they won’t support me’.
Asked where exactly Verona aligns herself politically now, Verona said she first experienced politics within the IRHA.
‘When I finished my law degree, I had an understanding of legislation and policy and how it was affecting the sector of my business.
‘We spoke about road tax at the council meeting and I felt we weren’t getting anywhere by just having meetings, and action needed to be taken. Being in the IRHA, and becoming President by being elected, that was politics for me and where it started.
‘It has taught me how to bring information constructively to government, giving the understanding they need of the sector for constructive consultation.
‘My life experience means that I can relate to just about everybody. I have huge business experience, I can bring a fresh new voice that’s meaningful and I’m going to be able to talk on the uncomfortable issues. That makes me different from the mainstream parties, because you can raise something that’s not in line with the party whip.’
Deciding to run in the election was a big moment for Verona.
‘My parents are of an age group now and they have never been involved in politics before, they were wondering if I wanted to put myself through
MY LIFE EXPERIENCE MEANS THAT I CAN RELATE TO JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY. I CAN BRING A FRESH NEW VOICE THAT’S MEANINGFUL AND I’M GOING TO BE ABLE TO TALK ON THE UNCOMFORTABLE ISSUES
that again.
‘We all sat down and everyone had an input. When we weighed it up, my father’s attitude was that you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t and he’s right. You don’t get opportunities very often but when you do you should grab them and I’ve taken my stand.’
Talking about equality, the EU diversity ambassador said she is a believer in gender balance.
‘I’m one of the women to the forefront of road haulage but there are women that don’t put themselves forward as advocates. We’re very top heavy when it comes to the male representation.
‘From the driving perspective, the job is as easy to do for a woman as it is for a man. We’re trying to dispel all the myths that you can’t do that job. You can sit behind the desk and do admin but you can also sit behind the wheel and drive the truck.
‘We need gender balance, but I think once you have the ability gender doesn’t matter. I’m not an all out feminist, for me it’s about ability’.
Thinking back to recent referenda, Verona said that she is both pro life and pro choice.
‘You can be both, my life experience dictates that. The choice is the person’s and the conscience deals with that choice. When it comes to the gay marriage referendum, I absolutely voted in favour of it.’
Verona said that vulnerable people come in all different shapes and sizes.
‘If you leave home at 15, you’re pretty vulnerable. I’ve had a huge representation from the disability groups, they’re vulnerable, because they are not being given fair treatment.
‘Mental health is something that has been neglected, those people are very vulnerable. I’ve been through those things, I can and do empathise and I will do what I can. I’ ll be a person who’s able to represent the issues, more than likely from personal experience.’
During the campaign, Verona has been attending the tractor protest with farmers, as well as siding in favour of Enniscorthy dog track remaining open.
She said that both groups promote culture and a love of animals.
‘As a society, we have a dedicated newspaper to farming, I think that says a lot. When you talk about animal rights, all you have to do is read the Farmer’s Journal and see the amount of regulation in place to protect the animals and farmers.
‘I don’t believe there is anybody who breeds dogs just for the benefit of racing them. It’s a passion, a love of the animal itself.
‘Like horse-racing, it’s our culture and there’s nothing to say that those who take part in the sports don’t look after their animals.
‘It’s the same when you take animals and transport them from one country to another as livestock, there’s huge regulatory requirements. There is no concern and there should be no concern.
‘I have huge ideas for what can be done in farming. We will rue the day that we try to rid ourselves of agriculture, the regulation is overpowering and the cost base is rising far too fast’.
Talking about climate activist Greta Thunberg, Verona said that she admired her ability to make her voice heard.
‘It’s fantastic that she has the wherewithal at her young age to go out there but with her life experience, she may not understand the economics of climate change. What she’s done is brought a huge awareness, but sectors vary on what they can sustain’.
With a so called green wave taking place here and in Europe, Verona has some ideas of her own.
‘As a haulier, we are constantly striving to look for something that will alleviate carbon emissions and help the environment. I am in the process of encouraging everyone to use hydrogenated vegetable oil, a product generated from rapeseed oil. The problem today is that the cost of this is more than diesel, so there is no incentive.
‘On the government’s Climate Action Plan, the idea that they would eradicate diesel and petrol cars by 2030 is just an outrageous proposition. It shows how out of touch they are, and that they have no recognition and that there is a whole sector like ours that doesn’t have an alternative.
‘We’re an island, the majority of exports leave in a truck and they haven’t looked in to how we’re going to be able to operate.
‘I’ve a huge gripe with the fact that they are constantly signing up to deadlines in Europe that they cannot meet without consultations from the relevant sections. We’re paying huge fines and we’re being forced into positions where we can’t cope.
‘I have experience of Europe, I’ve lobbied for years on legislation for the transport sector in general. Transport and the hauliers are going to face a double whammy of new regulation combined with a Brexit.
‘We will have to see how Brexit works and how it affects us to know whether the structure in Europe is working, but we can’t deny that Europe has been very good to us’.
Verona sees that there has been a transition in global politics.
‘The fact that we have Dublin centric policies, that’s the same the world over. The big cities have the vast majority of population and there’s a dominance. I’m going to try and balance that, I want to see a university in Wexford.
‘It comes from the fact that I myself would never have been able to attend a university in Dublin, because I was working, and I wouldn’t have been able to afford it.
‘We don’t have the housing supply in Wexford and the jobs are too low paid to obtain a mortgage. Combating poverty is about supplying jobs that are sustainable at a proper rate of pay.
‘The economy is booming and we need to make sure that the IDA come to Wexford’.
Talking about the elephant in the room, comments made about migrants entering Ireland and Wexford that Verona says were taken out of context during the last campaign, she said that the issue has been well covered.
‘There is no stigma, people that know me know that I’m not a racist. The comments that I made were taken out of context, correctly reported by David Looby, that’s it.
‘My views are broad ranging and from life experience, and my views are not what they are made’.
Verona described her own family as ‘like the United Nations’ as she has brothers and sisters in law come from France, Spain, the Philippines and the USA, but when asked about her experience of visiting a direct provision centre during the last campaign, she began by saying it was a great experience but was then cut off and did not continue her answer.
Verona concluded that all of her policies hold equal importance, and that if elected, going into coalition in the Dáil remains to be seen.
‘I certainly will be voting with people on the basis that my red lines for Wexford are met. All of the life experience that I’ve outlined, some of that is lacking in some of our politicians’.