Bailieborough Cootehill MD Candidate: Fiona McCormack (Ind)

Reared in Cootehill, her parents ran Bannon's pub in the town. Fiona studied Children's Nursing and worked in the Royal Hospital in Belfast before moving back to her home town in 2004 where she works in the Respite Unit in Cootehill that caters for adults and children. Fiona and her husband Darrell have a son (15) and two daughters (14 and 11).

How do you unwind?

The gym is great, I go walking and socialise. I'm a people person so if there's anything to join I'll join it as a social outlet, and I'm able to help at the same time.

Why should people vote for you?

I'm just like the people on the ground wishing that the services were better. We see the town is going down the wrong road - businesses that are starting out don't last because they can’t afford the rates. I find there's so many people in the town who have a cloud over them - they have nowhere to go, nowhere to do anything with their children.

We have St Michael's Hall, it's not really used. There's a committee to get it going again but it's very slow. I think the whole town has to be involved in that - doing different events, raising money. Because I'm sociable, I feel have that much drive in me that I can get people together and we can do something.

What will you do to address housing supply?

There's a lot of derelict houses around, which haven't been used in years.

We could get the council to go in and offer the owners money - this happens a lot in England when there's houses derelict for so long.

It costs more money to excavate a site and build houses, whereas if you redevelop houses here, there and everywhere, there's better integration rather than pushing them out to a new housing estate.

There's no excuse - in Cootehill, Bailieborough all these estates have houses just lying there. I will be pushing to get these houses done up cheaply.

Has Ireland taken in enough refugees?

Definitely. Far too many. There should be some kind of system like they have in Australia. First of all you have to keep your own people here - offer more apprenticeships, maybe in nursing and caring, or whatever trade, and pay them better.

Then make the infrastructure better that they want to stay - they would maybe have to sign an agreement of five years. Then, within that five years, more taxes will come in and more money will come into the government and Ireland.

But we are taking in all these people who maybe have no skill. Why are they losing their passports? They are trying to cover something up. That's wrong - you would never get into Australia like that.

If they bring these people in, fine, get them a job.

What's your main campaigning issue?

Lobby government for reformation of the immigration policies - it blends in to everything. You can't keep bringing people in here? How do you integrate them all? They are not going to be integrated if they are coming in and being put in tents. They need to be brought in and given jobs - they will integrate then, and bring their experience into the job.

Integration is what I want, but at a better level - if they have jobs, they are bringing in taxes and they are equal then.

Also there's not enough places in school for people with disabilities. I've been to houses and they say I have a son with autism and he has to go to a school so many miles away - why can't we accommodate them locally? I'd also like to get a sensory room in this new building in St Michael's Hall. I want to include everyone in that, utilise every room in that place for everybody.

Should biodiversity/climate crises top the agenda?

I think farmers are getting an awful lot of blame for everything. They are suffering an awful lot and the young farmers can't even make a living out of it any more because of all the restrictions from Europe.

I don't think it should be top of the agenda, there's more important issues to deal with before we get to that. Everyone has their own role to play in it.

Who in the political sphere has influenced you most?

Senator Sharon Keogan brought me for empowerment training. She's just incredible, with the ideas she wants to push forward. What she believes in she speaks about. She's speaking about the people on the ground: that's all about me, that's exactly who I want to be.