Cavan-Belturbet MD Candidates: Kevin Murphy Green Party

Married to Emma, the dad-of-four from Swanlinbar is the first person to stand for the Green Party in Cavan.

An environmental research engineer currently looking at how to introduce hydrogen into the Irish economy, Kevin went back to university and is currently completing his Masters.

He is from a farming background and is passionate about ecology and sustainability in rural settings.

How do you unwind?

I like to get outdoors, be around nature, walking and running especially. If I ever get the opportunity I love to canoe or paddle. Get up in the mountains, clear the head.

Why should people vote for you?

That's a very good question.

I hope to bring new ideas to the table. My background is engineering, so as an engineer you look for solutions rather than just pointing out problems.

Also, in my different roles I have dealt with different people. I've always tried to listen, to hear opinions out. I'm not a rock. I can change directions. If I'm wrong I can accept that as well.

I love to learn, I love to help people, and if I can help people in anyway, I will.

What will you do to address housing supply?

Looking at my own little village I've seen, in the last number of years, seven or eight houses were sold, being done up, rebuilt, fixed.

So if you give people a chance, they'll take it. The Vacant Homes Scheme is a brilliant idea. It mightn't be perfect, but you have to start somewhere. There is a lot of derelict housing out there still.

I'll put my hand up, I have one myself, an old cottage, and if I had the time and money I'd do it up. Eventually I will.

Has Ireland taken in enough refugees?

That's a difficult question. I would not like to be in a refugee’s position. I try to look at it from their point of view: different language, no money, and to go to a country that probably doesn't want them there - they can read. I feel awful sorry for them.

I wouldn't like to leave Ireland if I had no choice. We are the land of one hundred thousand welcomes. Have we taken in enough? Not yet. But we're not ready for a mass influx of people either. When you become a rich country, certainly one of the richest in Europe, if not the world, people will want to come.

What are your main campaigning issues?

The environment, and knowledge and information. A little seed that sticks in your mind mightn't come to fruition for 20 years or more, but it stays in there. To convince one person, the cause is not a hopeless one. As people we have faced the o-zone destruction, world wars, we can face this and improve and move on.

Should the biodiversity/ climate crises be at the very top of the council agenda?

Absolutely. Our rivers, our lakes, they're not in a healthy state. Your windscreen, it used to be covered in insects - that doesn't happen any more. Where are they gone? Without insects, bees and birds, it’s very hard to produce food. We are not top of the food chain we are part of it. We need to protect it, we need to look after it. We have the knowledge. Let’s use it.

Who in a political sphere has influenced you the most?

I actually got to meet her: Grace O'Sullivan, what a woman! What she has done, dealing with being the mother of a child with a disability, a single mother who became a Senator, went to Europe, and she actually climbed up the side of a nuclear testing boat in the middle of the ocean. She worked with Greenpeace for 20 years. I wish I had that courage and bravery to do something - which is what I'm doing right now standing for election.