Former Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley has accused Mary Lou McDonald of abusing Dáil privilege “in a desperate attempt to shift the focus” away from her party.
Ms McDonald told the Dáil on Tuesday that the woman who made the original complaint about the Laois-Offaly TD had been left “traumatised”. She later said Mr Stanley needed to “account” for his “behaviour” and that the complaint was “serious.”
In a statement, Mr Stanley said he believed Ms McDonald was trying to shift the focus “from her own party’s practices regarding a ‘complaint’ against me, the contents of which I refute”.
“This comes after days of inaccurate statements and insinuations from Sinn Féin, along with selective briefings delivered with the clear intention of damaging my reputation and to shift the spotlight off the party. And all this, while a Garda investigation is ongoing on foot of serious matters I brought forward,” he said.
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“What was also revealing from her statement in the Dáil, is the level of double standards that now operate and pertain in Sinn Féin.
“In the interest of clarity, I again state the following: That the complaint against me, and which was not deemed to be of a criminal nature, was lodged on the July 26th and not seven days later as Sinn Féin claim.”
Sinn Féin has said the complaint was officially made on August 2nd.
“I also state that it was deliberately kept from me that there was even a complaint. That I wasn’t informed officially that there was a complaint until the 31 of July and this followed a letter from my solicitor to Sinn Féin to demand official confirmation as to the existence of one,” Mr Stanley added. “I again welcome the fact that this matter is now with An Garda Síochána.”
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. Ms McDonald told the Dáil on Tuesday that Mr Ó Donnghaile stepped down after sending inappropriate text messages to two individuals, one of them a 17-year-old male party member, who contacted the party asking for the contact to stop, triggering a formal party procedure.
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland he accepted that the full information was not provided to the Dáil in relation to the departure of Mr Ó Donnghaile from the party.
“But I also accept that people now know why that full information was not provided. It is important to state that Niall Ó Donnghaile faced the full rigours of the party, he lost his job, he lost his position within the party and he was referred for a criminal investigation to the PSNI and social services,” Mr Doherty said.
Mr Doherty said that any comparison between the public reference given to Mr Ó Donnghaile and the reference given by party press officers for Michael McMonagle, who recently pleaded guilty to child sex offences, was “outrageous and not acceptable”.
“The comparison is utterly, in my view, disgraceful. And I make that point again. And your attempt to try and conflate an issue of very serious child abuse with an issue in relation to Niall, who sent inappropriate messages to a 17-year-old.”
Mr Doherty dismissed as “nonsense” Mr Stanley’s claim that Ms McDonald’s comments in the Dáil about his situation were a desperate attempt to shift the focus from Sinn Féin’s own failed procedures.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers on Wednesday criticised a “culture of concealment” in Sinn Féin and said there were serious and fundamental issues with the party’s governance.
The Fianna Fáil TD told Newstalk Breakfast he believed Sinn Féin was putting the interests of the party above those of the people. He said he believed Ms McDonald’s leadership was “seriously questionable”.
“I don’t think Mary Lou McDonald is fit to lead any government. She clearly has no control of her own party’s affairs and is putting all aspects of Sinn Féin as a party and their interests over the public.”
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