The Big Interview: Jason Murphy on being mayor, getting engaged and seeing it all come together for Waterford
Cllr Jason Murphy in the Waterford News & Star office.
There has probably never been a Waterford Mayor who gave such a nerve-wrecking speech at the annual Mayoral Ball as Cllr Jason Murphy.
At this year’s ball, the now former Mayor Murphy proposed to his partner Nicola, who said yes.
When the Waterford News & Star sat down with Cllr Murphy this week to talk about Waterford and mayoral matters, he told us getting engaged was the highlight of his year.
“I was giving the speech, which is a speech about your time as mayor and bits and pieces about Waterford, and I completely lost the run of myself because I knew what I was going to do at the end.
“And in the middle of the speech, I was like, I don’t know if I can do this because I didn’t know what was going to happen.
“But thank God she said yes eventually, she got over the shock, and I could relax a bit for the rest of the night.
“And that, to be honest, was the highlight of my year on a personal level, obviously. And to meet someone as special as she is, and she is, and looking forward to getting married in May of next year,” said Cllr Murphy.
And what a year it has been.
Cllr Murphy said his highlights included seeing the North Quays coming together, all of the mayoral receptions he hosted and representing Waterford in Boston.
His achievements have included the council helping Mount Congreve and passing the first budget after the local elections.
One of the former mayor’s highlights was the installation of the Sustainable Transport Bridge and seeing the North Quays project start to come together.
“People can finally see something happening on the North Quays. People want to see cranes and they want to see boots on the ground, said Cllr Murphy.
We asked Cllr Murphy about the vacancy, especially along the Quay, as empty shops are a concern for local businesses and residents across the city. He said the North Quays project is key to addressing that. What Waterford needs, he said, is footfall and to attract people into the city. The North Quays project, when complete, will bring people with “spending power” to the city by attracting business, and addressing some of the shortage of accommodation and hotel rooms.
He said people want an experience when they come to the city, and that is something Waterford does and can provide.
He cited the two major festivals held in the county on the same weekend, Spraoi and All Together Now.
Cllr Murphy said that when he was deputy mayor in 2015, he hosted the Austrian ambassador, who said something that stuck with him. During the visit, the ambassador was given a gift of Waterford Crystal in a bag with a picture of Waterford from the 1700s.
“He made a comment, and this was well before the North Quays was even spoken about, and he said, ‘It’s an awful pity in a city that has such a beautiful river that you have your backs to it.’ And it resonated with me because it is true, we do have our backs to the river here in Waterford, and it’s not something we have taken full advantage of, particularly as you mentioned the quayside.
“Years ago, the quayside would have been a very vibrant commercial area. When I was growing up, and I’m 52, there were an awful lot of shops on the quay, and there were bars and pubs up on the quay. Not so much now, but I think that will change when we finally take our back away from it and face onto it, and the people on the other side will be facing the quay side,” said Cllr Murphy.
Cllr Murphy says he finds the issue of the airport frustrating too, but is positive it will work out well for Waterford.
“It seemed to be an argument on top of a pin on what it actually was, or whether the business case was comprehensive enough to beef it up to resubmit it and pass through these gates and rule changes, and it didn’t meet the new criteria. These things are very frustrating,” said Cllr Murphy.
He said that the process of providing a business case is very similar to that of the second Cath lab. But they, as representatives, need to continue to lobby the government for the funding, which is not only important for development but also for keeping the rescue helicopter in Waterford.
“Politics, unfortunately, even at the local level, and you can imagine at a national level, moves slowly, too slow for everyone. We all know that.
“But I am confident. The lads in the airport know what they have to do and they are going to do what they have been asked to do,” said Cllr Murphy.
In the meantime, Cllr Murphy said the council need to keep the airport going until it can sustain itself and he welcomed the recent announcement by William Bolster to match the council's funding.
Cllr Murphy told us that the issue of homelessness is something that “resonates” with him. He said around 80% of representations made to him relate to housing, and many of those are homeless because of family breakdowns.
He said there was a time in his life when he was very lucky to have somewhere to go, and regardless of anyone’s issues, he does not judge them.
“I went through a breakup and went back home at the age of 30. I was lucky I could go back home to my mother and father. I went back into the box room; it wasn’t pleasant, but I could go somewhere.
“In my experience, people come into the office, into the clinic, into Mary Butler’s clinic, going through very challenging situations and have nowhere to go, and my heart absolutely breaks for them. I don’t know how they are sustaining themselves, I don’t know how they do it,” said Cllr Murphy.
While homelessness is a complex issue, Cllr Murphy does have some idea about how to ease the problem. He said that the best provider of social homes is local authorities. While Approved Housing Bodies do great work, Cllr Murphy said there are too many and councils need to do more.
He said he would like to see an amnesty for people who are living in a council house, undeclared.
He said that while it is not right that people might not declare their partner or relative, he understands that they lie out of desperation. But the council cannot collect rent for that person, and if circumstances in the home change, that person is at high risk of homelessness. But, if the council gave a six-month amnesty, people could come forward and only have to pay rent from when the council registered them. This would give that person more security and allow the council to collect rent- a win-win for all.
“I have a feeling people would come forward because what happens if someone dies or something happens, and these people are in no man’s land, and now they are homeless. I have made a number of reps for those people and you are at nothing because they are not there,” said Cllr Murphy.
The other issue Cllr Murphy would like to see changed is the issue of pets in council apartments. He said he has tried to help many people who are offered an apartment but won’t take it because it would mean leaving behind their little dog. Cllr Murphy said that while some breeds are inappropriate for apartments, others are not, and it should not be a one-size-fits-all issue.
“People love those little dogs. And it is a mental health issue. It gives them company, a bit of solace, and they are treated like children. When I was growing up, a dog didn’t even have a lead, they roamed the town like wild animals, like wolves, but that has changed,” Cllr Murphy.
We asked Cllr Murphy about Waterford Helping the Homeless. In May, the organisation told the Waterford News & Star they were disappointed that, as mayor, Cllr Murphy had not visited despite arrangements to do so.
Cllr Murphy said this was a misunderstanding and he thinks the invitation simply “fell through the cracks”. He said that he has been to visit and he thinks they do great work and would have no issue visiting again.
“I’m happy to call down to them, there is no problem at all and they do good work - no problem at all with that,” said Cllr Murphy.
Timing your heart attack well is both the joke and the fear for many families in Waterford, which does not yet have 24 hour cardiac care. But, Cllr Murphy said there is funding and a commitment from the Government to implement full cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford.
He said he understands the fear locally as there is a history of heart disease in his family, and recently, a member of his family had to make the difficult choice of waiting for the unit in Waterford to open or go to Cork. They waited for Waterford, and all was well, but it was still a matter of time.
“It brought home to me that he was extremely lucky that he had his heart attack at six in the morning as opposed to three. So that is the fine lines and fear people were dealing with and still have. There is a commitment and the funding is there and they have to get the extra consultants and staff and will get them, but that takes time,” said Cllr Murphy.
Although his term as mayor is over, Cllr Murphy says there is still much work to be done, especially in his area of Waterford Ward South.
“I am looking forward to getting into the bread and butter stuff that I have always done, which is help people with grants, helping them interface with the council, helping them with their housing reps, and there is only so much you can do, but you can help and you can advocate,” said Cllr Murphy.
While the area has issues like problems with lighting and footpaths, Cllr Murphy said he would also like to see more community facilities. But he would like to see his community lobby, with his support, for those things they could call their own.
One such thing would be an all-weather pitch.
“[A space] that the kids have somewhere to go in the evening and whatever sport they play, it doesn’t matter if it's cricket, GAA, I don’t care what they’re doing, playing bowling, dancing. But that they have an area they can call their own and have a bit of ownership over,” said Cllr Murphy.
He said recently councillors took a bus tour of West Waterford, and Cllr Murphy said he admired their community spirit. He would like to see the same in the city.
“What I was a bit jealous of when we were out on the tour of West Waterford is the amount of community and sport infrastructure they have up there. And fair play to them, I think their communities in some way are a little more cohesive. There is maybe more of a sense of identity if you are from Kilwatermoy or Knockanore.
"These people feel that it is their parish and they are going to work for it. In the city, it’s a bit different. So you have to get people to take a little bit of ownership.
"It’s just a bit more of a challenge, but it can be done as well,” said Cllr Murphy.
Click on the video below to see Cllr Murphy talk of his time as Mayor
