Tanya Jones is the Green Party candidate in the constituency of Fermanagh & South Tyrone. We caught up with her on issues such as televised debates, fracking and more.
What can you tell people who don’t know you about yourself and what you could do for the people of Fermanagh & South Tyrone?
I have lived in Enniskillen for eleven years, and my younger children went to school at Erne Integrated College, where I am now a governor. I am a writer, and have a small online business selling books. I was a founder member of the Fermanagh Fracking Awareness Network and am secretary and former chair of the Fermanagh Churches Forum, a group of individuals promoting reconciliation and understanding. I have previously lived in England, the U.S., Italy and County Clare, and have worked as a solicitor and teacher. As a Green Party MLA I would work to build a fairer, cleaner and safer future for our children, supported by my Green Party colleagues and ready to co-operate positively with people and parties from every tradition. Listening, looking at the evidence and thinking ahead are more valuable than shouting slogans, and reconciliation is better for us all than revenge. Stormont’s collapse, the prospect of a harsh Brexit and the Trump presidency have all made the future, especially in border counties, more uncertain and dangerous. For our children’s sake, we need wise voices, deep-rooted principles and sensible, sustainable and long-term policies to nurture their education and their health, to protect the natural world around them, to build them rewarding livelihoods and to grant them willingly the rights they deserve.
The Green Party have in the last few days highlighted their disappointment at not being invited on televised debates. Why do you think it’s important that the Green Party are invited and if they are then where is the line? Do you have every party needing to be involved in television debates?
The Green Party increased its vote considerably in the May 2016 election, and doubled its representation, while that vote is predicted to increase by around 45% again this year. It has been in the forefront of many campaigns, and was the first to bring issues such as equal marriage to the Assembly. For the second election in a row, the Green Party is standing candidates in every constituency. As such, it is clearly highly significant in any discussion of Northern Ireland’s future, and any analysis of the forthcoming election. The question of which parties should be invited to debates will depend upon the context, but the number of candidates, whether they had any MLAs in the last Assembly, and the pattern of their support would all, I would think, be relevant factors.
Being from an area like Fermanagh & South Tyrone which has so much natural beauty, it’s no surprise that you, along with the Green Party, are anti-Fracking. What can you and the Party do to tackle the issues brought on by fracking and climate change?
This is a wide subject, which our manifesto deals with in more detail, but among other measures we are calling for a ban on all types of so-called unconventional fossil fuel extraction, including fracking, and for a Northern Ireland specific Climate Change Bill. I discuss the issues of fracking and climate change in great depth on my blog http://www.greenlassie.com
Do you think, once an investigation has taken place and the dust settles on the outcome of that, that the RHI scheme can return? The concept of encouraging local businesses to use renewable energy is obviously a good one.
As you suggest, the problems with RHI were not with the technology, but with the way that the scheme was mishandled and mismanaged. We will continue to promote the use of renewable energy sources through well-designed, evidence based schemes.
You have spoken out about how we need changes to our health service. What areas do you suggest are some of the main/more important ones once the Assembly is back?
These are outlined in our manifesto, and include the positive promotion of health education, illness prevention and community healthcare, decriminalisation of abortion and support for health service staff.