Sinn Féin has had what can only be described as a nightmare in recent weeks.
First the party’s slide continued in the polls, with the latest Irish Times/Ipsos survey putting it down three points at 20 per cent while Mary Lou McDonald was down six points to 30 per cent when it came to the satisfaction ratings for the party leaders.
Then there was huge controversy surrounding Sinn Féin’s former press officer Michael McMonagle, who has been convicted of child sex offences.
It saw Kildare TD Patricia Ryan quit last week, claiming she’d had social media posts censored, questions to the party leadership at meetings were vetted and that Sinn Féin was “not listening” to members and TDs.
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The were reports over the weekend that a senior party figure resigned after allegedly sending inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old party member. This person was suspended by Sinn Féin in September of last year and the incident was referred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and social services.
And then on Saturday night the party faced a fresh headache as one of its most senior TDs, Public Accounts Committee chairman Brian Stanley, resigned claiming that something resembling a “kangaroo court” had been set up by the party after a complaint was made about him.
All of this comes, of course, as a general election looms.
The row over Mr Stanley’s departure has deepened in the days since as Jack Horgan Jones and Jennifer Bray report in our lead story today.
While the nature of the complaint and counter complaints at the heart of the dispute have not been revealed, Sinn Féin said on Monday that it told Mr Stanley in September to go to the Garda with concerns he raised during the party‘s inquiry into a complaint against him.
The rift between Sinn Féin and its former TD grew yesterday as the party hit back at Mr Stanley’s suggestion it should have reported these concerns after he raised them with the party last month during the inquiry.
Mr Stanley said he raised “serious matters” with the panel investigating the allegation on September 11th, and that “the party should have referred it to the gardaí”. His resignation was followed by a referral of the matter to the Garda by Sinn Féin, which is now facing criticism for not doing so sooner in the process. Horgan-Jones has compiled a useful timeline of the saga.
Ms McDonald took to the airwaves on Monday morning where she was quizzed about the issue on RTÉ's Morning Ireland. The full transcript is here.
And the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast looked at the crisis for Sinn Féin here.
Michael McMonagle
Some of Sinn Féin’s other woes will be front and centre of Dáil proceedings today as time has been allocated for statements on child protection.
This ended up on the schedule after the Government and some in the Opposition demanded that Sinn Féin make a Dáil statement on the controversy surrounding McMonagle, a former party press officer.
The 42-year-old, from Limewood Street in Derry, last month pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and 12 counts of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates in 2020 and 2021.
He was suspended from his press officer job with Sinn Féin after he was arrested in August 2021 but was in September 2022 appointed to the role of communications manager with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity in Belfast.
Sinn Féin has come under huge pressure over how it dealt with the issue after it emerged employment references were provided for McMonagle by Seán Mag Uidhir, a long-standing figure in the party who headed its media operation in Northern Ireland, and his colleague Caolán McGinley. The two officials left the party as a result.
Speaking last week, Ms McDonald signaled that Sinn Féin would challenge the Government parties on their child protection policies during today’s debate. She said “very senior members” of the Coalition parties had written character references for “convicted rapists and child abusers”.
There are likely to some sharp exchanges – to say the least - during the Dáil debate later this afternoon.
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Best Reads
Horgan-Jones details six unanswered questions over the Sinn Féin-Brian Stanley controversy.
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From the courts Mary Carolan reports on how planning approval for a 399 apartment scheme beside Royal Hospital Kilmainham is ‘unlawful’, according to the judge.
The Irish Times has received almost 50 nominations for the Irish Journalism awards with Miriam Lord, Harry McGee, Jack Horgan-Jones and Naomi O’Leary all getting well-deserved shortlist recognition for their political coverage. The winners are revealed next month.
Playbook
The Cabinet meets this morning. We have tee-up stories, including how relocating RTÉ to the GPO is among proposals considered by a taskforce on rejuvenating Dublin city centre and a new Garda deputy Commissioner is to be appointed.
The Dáil kicks off with Leaders’ Questions at 2pm followed by the Order of Business and Taoiseach’s Questions.
Government business in the afternoon starts with Statements on Child Protection from 3.50pm.
Next up is a debate on the Social Welfare Bill 2024, the piece of legislation that brings welfare measures from Budget 2025 into effect. This starts at 5.32pm.
Sinn Féin have a private members’ motion on disability services. The debate is to start at 7.29pm.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan is due to take Parliamentary Questions related to his department at 9.31pm.
TDs have an opportunity to raise “Topical Issues” from 11.01pm.
In the committee rooms, TDs and Senators will examine the needs of visually impaired primary and second level students at the Committee on Education from 11am.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is before the Committee on Environment at 11am to be quizzed on the public sector climate action mandate.
The Committee on Housing is looking at data discrepancy between the Central Statistics Office and the Residential Tenancies Board – with representatives from both organisations – from 3pm.
The full Dáil, Seanad and Committee schedules can be found here.
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