Sinn Féin is facing renewed pressure amid political charges that it may have misled the Oireachtas with a tribute to resigning senator Niall Ó Donnghaile last year.
With the party facing intense pressure amid a series of controversies, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil on Tuesday that Mr Ó Donnghaile stepped down after sending inappropriate text messages to two individuals.
One of the people was a 17-year-old male party member, who contacted the party asking for the contact to stop, triggering a formal party procedure. The second person did not make a complaint.
Ms McDonald told the Dáil that on October 5th, Sinn Féin’s party chair, chief whip and Belfast chair told him his actions were not acceptable and Mr Ó Donnghaile indicated he would be resigning from the party and Seanad.
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Political focus quickly shifted to a statement issued by Ms McDonald last December praising Mr Ó Donnghaile’s contributions in politics and expressing the hope that he can “overcome the health challenges that he has had to deal with over the past number of months”.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said it “appears the Oireachtas was misled on the full reasons” for Mr Ó Donnghaile’s resignation.
Ms McDonald said that the party had received legal advice against naming Mr Ó Donnghaile as there was no charge brought against him after the matter was referred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) – and that it did not inform the Oireachtas of the circumstances around the resignation as he was suffering a mental health crisis following the complaint.
“We were very worried that publicly naming him would be dangerous to his health, and that is not to make an excuse for his behaviour,” Ms McDonald said.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that Mr Ó Donnghaile continued to hold office between September and December 2023 even though he had been suspended, and that Ms McDonald’s tribute to him suggested the only reason he was standing down was for ill-health, asking if there was a “secret suspension” in effect due to the lack of disclosure by Sinn Féin.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns accused Sinn Féin of “glossing over” the reasons for his resignation.
“Whatever about not publicly naming him in relation to allegations because of concerns around his mental health, her statement was utterly glowing,” she said, adding that he was in fact “resigning in disgrace”.
The series of controversies dogging Sinn Féin is likely to continue to dominate the days ahead, with a public social media post showing that Ms McDonald sent a supportive tweet to Mr Ó Donnghaile in June.
[ Sinn Féin-Brian Stanley row comes after nightmare couple of weeks for partyOpens in new window ]
A separate controversy stemming from the resignation of former Public Accounts Committee chair Brian Stanley was also referenced by Ms McDonald. Mr Stanley resigned after a complaint was made about him, which was not deemed to have potential criminal implications, and latterly made a counter complaint.
Ms McDonald said the original complaint “relates to Mr Stanley’s personal behaviour” and left the complainant, in her own words, “traumatised and distressed”.
Government TDs indicated that they would keep the pressure up – Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon questioned whether there may be a role for the Oireachtas Commission, which is responsible for running the Oireachtas, as the reasons for Mr Ó Donnghaile stepping down were not publicly known.
Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy said the Sinn Féin leadership now needed to answer “detailed questions” about why they did not inform the Oireachtas of the circumstances surrounding Niall Ó Donnghaile’s resignation from the party and Seanad. He said it needed to be clarified if Sinn Féin misled the Oireachtas.
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