From Ballybin to Brussels... Nina Carberry on her high profile move into politics and life as a new MEP

After coming away from a face-to-face interview with Nina Carberry, it is obvious one thing is certain. This lady is not going to shirk away from a challenge. Think about it. How many times has she ridden the Aintree Grand National course? How many times has she completed it? We’re not talking a trip around Ballyhack here.

The answer is that she rode the Liverpool circuit six times, completing the course on four occasions. Her best result was on a horse called Character Building in 2010, owned by Patricia Thompson of Cheveley Park Stud near Newmarket in England, which she also rode in the 2011 renewal. More about Mrs Thompson later.

That is certainly what has gone on in the life of Ms Nina Carberry (now also Mrs Ted Walsh Jnr) ever since. Character Building. A very public one, from being a quiet shy girl who won the 2011 Fairyhouse Grand National on Organisedconfusion for her uncle, Arthur Moore, retiring from racing at the Punchestown festival of April 2018, then jumping into the RTE ‘Dancing with the Stars’ competition four years later (and winning it), before becoming a coach on ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family’. Not to mention rounds of signings and appearances when she began publishing children’s story books based at Rowan Tree Stables.

If life for the Ratoath mother of two children wasn’t busy enough, what possessed her to get into politics, and run for election to the European Parliament, not exactly within commuting distance?

“I always had it in the back of my mind to do something like this,” she says. “Although I didn’t think it was going to be this soon. I felt I had built up a good profile, and I wanted to put it to good use.

“And then this opportunity came along where I was asked to put myself forward for the European Elections. I knew a good few people within Fine Gael and the question was asked would I consider taking up the opportunity. So I decided to take it on like I took every opportunity offered. If it worked out, brilliant; if not, I’d go back to what I was doing, try to do something else in public life. But it worked for me, and now I’m here.”

She agrees that in a European campaign which such a large constituency, name recognition is very important.

“But you still have to prove yourself. You are now in the public eye in a different way. People see you differently straight away. That takes a lot of getting used to as well. Obviously, I was a sporting figure, I was on television, but people look at you differently when you go into politics.

“You have to prove yourself again and again, but I am not fearful of that. I'm just going to try and do my best, and do my best for the constituency as well.”

While there were many saying that she had no experience in politics, she pointed out it is important that people come from different walks of life, to bring a different perspective to decision-making.

“So I was delighted when the voters got behind me.”

It was an intense campaign, from the beginning of March, but really taking off at the end of March, non-stop straight through to polling day in June.

“We were out on the campaign, trying to get to meetings everywhere, in a big constituency of 15 counties, it’s a lot, trying to meet as many people as you can, and hoping that councillors can help you along the way, and they did.”

The council candidates were out canvassing for their own seats too, and their count took place before the European Parliament votes were tallied, so the candidates for Brussels and Strasbourg had to wait those extra few days to learn their fate.

“It was a strange few days to be honest, waiting to see what the next stage of your life would be,” Nina says. “And then I was so relieved and delighted to have such a massive first preference vote. I just had to hope the transfers would be kind after that, and thankfully they were good. It wasn’t easy, it was a big field with big names.”

The first six months was a bedding in period, finding staff, finding hew way around those complex buildings that make up the parliament. “You are going on people’s recommendations, relying on the party to a large extent, and luckily, we had people on the campaign who had worked there already, so that was a great start. After that, it was word of mouth, and interviewing. After all, it’s all about your staff at the end of the day. To make a success of it over the next five years, they are going to have to work as hard as you, so you are relying on them a lot.”

The fact that a new European Commission had to be put in place meant there was nothing happening legislatively, so the new MEPs and their staff had time to find their feet until Ursula Van der Leyen and Co were ratified.

“Now, I have real feel for the Parliament, figuring out the processes, meeting the commissioners, learning how to get access to the commissioners, with the help of staff, who had been working here for previous MEPs,” she says.

The Midlands Northwest MEP has been elected to three very strong committees in Parliament, and has been getting her teeth into them – Budget, International Trade, and Transport and Tourism.

She has even picked up the Brussels lingo already – referring to the Budget Committee as “the budge”.

“They are three that are very relevant to Ireland,” she says.

“Especially transport, as an island state, as we have seen recently with the chaos at Holyhead. We should be looking at a new port strategy. Aviation is another major topic.”

She points to the ‘T-ENT’, the Trans-European Transport Network, as making funding available for connectivity of railways, inland waterways, sea shipping route, maritime and inland ports, airports and terminals, and roads linking urban centres.

Other issues she will be working on include the animal live export legislation, and in particular, how it effects the equine breeding sector, of which she has experience.

The Parliament is also heading into a big year from a budgetary perspective, she explains, as discussions will begin on the seven year Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF), which decides spending for the seven years from 2027.

“There is talk of big reforms, and there will be a lot of demands on funding, especially from defence and security, with the war in Ukraine especially. We are a bit detached from that here, we don’t feel it as much as the other European countries, but you do feel how vulnerable Europe is, so there is a going to be a bit more restraint on the MMF.”

How all this will affect the Common Agricultural Policy, so vital for our farmers, is something to be closely watched, she adds.

“On the International Trade Committee, I was lucky enough to get a position on the EU-UK delegation, with a lead part negotiating on the intertrade committee.

“It’s very important for Midlands-North West to have a seat at that table, having bordering counties. The review of the TCA – the EU and UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement – following Brexit, will be up for review next year, and the SPS Agreement, looking at the food safety, animal and plant health trade processes at the borders, which we had a grace period on, coming to an end. The SPS veterinary agreement will be one of the hardest things to get over the line” she adds.

“Thankfully, we are at the non-friction stage of Brexit – the Windsor Framework really helped. There will be a summit where Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen will come together and start negotiations.

There has been lots of positive talk so far about a reset in relations, but nothing conclusive has happened yet about the next end phase of Brexit.” (As this was being written on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer was on his way to Brussels to meet the European leaders).

And of course, she says that the Mercosur Trade Deal with South American countries, which gravely concerns the beef industry here, will be high on the list.

“I was actually talking to the commissioner yesterday about the safeguarding mechanisms, how they are going to be enforced, how they are going to protect a level playing field, which is very hard to see when the traceability doesn’t go as far as we go.”

She has invited the International Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, to Ireland, to engage with farmers here.

The tourism element is something she is looking forward to working on, as the country, and the locality, puts so much focus on attracting visitors through destinations and festivals, and promoting our heritage landscapes.

Outside of the formal committees, there are interest groups that Nina is involved with, and she is co-chair of the Alzheimer's Group in Europe.

“This is very important for our aging population - we all know the challenges there. And I have a lived experience of Alzheimer’s and dementia, so it is something I feel am very passionate about, and want to do more in that sector.

“In Ireland, we are really leading in the sphere in Europe, and we have got unbelievable people behind that. I have had a discussion with people behind Alzheimer research and want to bring that to Parliament to see what we can do with it in Europe.”

She points to the dementia inclusive community initiatives being championed by Ratoath Community Centre as an example.

Sports and physical activity is another area she hopes to promote,

“It is shocking that 46 per cent of Europeans don’t do any physical activities, play sport, or exercise,” she says.

“So that is something I really want to raise awareness and tackle obesity as it in turn buts a lot of pressure on our health services. The hospitals are under strain not just in Ireland, but across Europe.”

She was also surprised to also discover a horse interest group, a cross-party network of people and bodies interested in horse welfare, which she has joined.

All these committees and working groups, such as her EPP party group, meet in Brussels for three weeks of the month, then decamp to Strasbourg for the plenary sessions where the debates and voting takes place.

A typical week will see her leave for Brussels on a Monday, or perhaps Sunday night, depending on schedules, returning on Thursday night.

There is a constituency week every six weeks or so which will give an opportunity to get out and about at home, and Friday is also a constituency day, when she tries to get to event across the country.

“We also have to communicate the work we are doing in Europe, as I don’t think it is appreciated that what we are discussing in Parliament this month will be coming into play in Ireland within a few short years, if passed in Strasbourg.”

Back to Mrs Patricia Thompson, owner of Character Building. She also owned another racehorse, which won the 1992 Aintree Grand National. Its name – Party Politics.