Sinn Féin says it told Laois-Offaly TD Brian Stanley in September to go to the Garda with concerns he raised during a party inquiry into a complaint against him.
With the issue set to dominate on Tuesday, the rift between Sinn Féin and its former TD grew 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 resigned as a Sinn Féin member on Saturday evening, citing a “kangaroo court” set up by the party after the complaint about him was lodged in late July.
During the investigation of that complaint, Mr Stanley said on Monday that he raised “serious matters” with the panel investigating the allegation on September 11th, and that “the party should have referred it to the Gardaí”.
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Mr Stanley’s 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.
It is understood there was some uncertainty in the Garda on Monday about how, and through which route, Sinn Féin had filed their referral, with attempts made yesterday in the force to locate it.
A source said the referral did not appear to have been lodged in Dublin or with Garda headquarters.
In a statement on Monday night, the Garda said: ”In general and without commenting on any specific matter, third party referrals to An Garda Síochána are initially examined to determine whether they meet the threshold for a potential criminal offence. They are not automatically subject to criminal investigation.”
The issue – along with several other political controversies Sinn Féin has been embroiled in during the last fortnight – is expected to be discussed during Dáil statements on child protection on Tuesday.
In a statement on Monday evening, Sinn Féin said that during its inquiry “a number of issues of concern were raised including one by Brian Stanley”.
The party said: “He was advised to go to the Gardaí to report this matter but chose not to. He was accompanied by his barrister and solicitor and was fully advised of his rights and entitlements.”
Mr Stanley and his solicitors were contacted for a comment on the Sinn Féin statement on Monday evening.
The party also revealed the gender of the complainant as a woman for the first time in the statement, as well as clarifying the exact timeline as to when it received the complaint. Ms McDonald was contradicted by Mr Stanley earlier in the day after she said it was received in early August, with Mr Stanley saying it was initially made on July 26th.
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Sinn Féin said on Monday night that the first contact from the complainant was on July 26th followed by a full statement on August 2nd.
The party said that following the completion of the preliminary stage of its inquiry and report, and having taken further legal advice, the party referred the complaint and the counter allegation to the Garda.
“It is now for the Gardaí to decide if any of the matters we have brought to their attention require further investigation.”
Speaking on RTÉ television on Monday night, Sinn Féin’s director of elections, Cavan-Monaghan TD Matt Carthy, said he had not been aware Mr Stanley would not be running for the party in the forthcoming general election until last Saturday, the day he resigned from the party.
He said he wasn’t sure about the basis for Mr Stanley’s claim that the timing of the original complaint against him would have precluded him from being a candidate, but said nobody had informed him that Mr Stanley would not be running. “Just to be clear,” he told Upfront host Katie Hannon, “I was appointed director of elections last week, and I don’t follow every single constituency convention. What happens is that local members in the constituency select their candidates.
“I assume TDs are seeking the nomination, unless somebody tells me otherwise. And up until last week, nobody suggested to me that any of our sitting TDs, with the exception of Imelda Munster in the Louth constituency, weren’t going forward.”
He said he took the fact he knew so little about the complaint or investigation as evidence the party’s procedures “work the way they are supposed to”, even if “on this occasion, it resulted in the resignation of a Sinn Féin TD”.
Asked about the handling of the complaint, he said: “There was absolutely no obligation on Sinn Féin to bring it to the gardaí, and legal advice confirmed that on a number of occasions, as I understand it.”
He backed party leader Ms McDonald’s handling of the controversy.
Mr Stanley (66) was first elected to the Dáil for Laois in 2011 and became the first Sinn Féin TD to hold the position of chair of the PAC when he was appointed to the role in 2020.
He drew controversy in 2020 over a tweet he posted about the Narrow Water ambush in Co Down in which 18 soldiers were killed by the IRA in 1979, while he had to defend himself against claims of homophobia over a tweet he posted on the day Mr Varadkar became Fine Gael leader. He later apologised for the tweet.
Sinn Féin is expected to move quickly to name a replacement for the chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Mr Stanley is due to be stripped of his chairmanship of the PAC, as he now becomes an Independent TD.
Chairpersons of committees are appointed by Dáil Éireann using the d’Hondt system, where committee chairs proportionately reflecting each party’s representation in the Dáil Chamber. While Sinn Féin has been considering a replacement, Fine Gael’s Ciarán Cannon and Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor said they will not co-operate with a new Sinn Féin chair while there are outstanding questions around controversies engulfing the party.
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