A Sinn Féin internal inquiry into allegations against TD Brian Stanley had reached a preliminary conclusion of gross misconduct against him before he resigned from the party on Saturday night.
Mr Stanley has fiercely contested the conduct of the inquiry, suggesting it “resembled a type of kangaroo court”.
The Irish Times understands that the inquiry, which was instituted after a complaint about Mr Stanley, had concluded that the complaint made about him was true, that he had breached Sinn Féin’s ethics code and made a finding of gross misconduct against him.
Draft findings were circulated to the parties to the process last week and they were invited to make any comments or submissions before the inquiry made its final recommendations. However, that process has now been interrupted by Mr Stanley’s resignation.
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In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said “the issue has been passed to An Garda Síochána”.
Asked later why, if it was of such seriousness, the issue was first investigated by the party before being referred to the gardaí, Ms McDonald said it had been done out of “an abundance of caution”.
News of Mr Stanley’s resignation, late on Saturday evening, was greeted with shock inside and outside Sinn Féin. As chairman of the powerful Public Accounts Committee, he was a one of the party’s best-known TDs, and was especially prominent during the committee’s hearings into the RTÉ scandals last year. Sinn Féin sources said they would quickly seek to remove him as chairman of the committee.
His statement of resignation was scathing about the inquiry process.
“In recent months a certain clique within the party have gone to extreme lengths to damage my reputation and character. No efforts have been spared by them in this regard,” he said.
“On foot of a ‘complaint’ I was recently brought before an internal party ‘inquiry’.
“Given what has transpired and the work of my legal team, what is very clear is this process lacked objectivity, was seriously flawed and was devoid of impartiality.
“This ‘inquiry’ has been shown to have lacked any shred of credibility, not least due to a significant abuse of process. In many ways it resembled a type of kangaroo court. Legal examination of this matter will continue.”
Mr Stanley said that “after 40 years of service to Sinn Féin, I will now continue working as an Independent republican TD of behalf of constituents, who have always treated me in a fair and respectful manner”.
But Sinn Féin insisted Mr Stanley’s rights “were protected throughout this process”, pointing out that he was represented by a solicitor and a barrister throughout.
“We will not ignore or hide away from difficult issues when they arise,” Ms McDonald’s statement said.
“These are not outcomes that anyone likes to see but let me be clear we have robust procedures for dealing with these issues and they will be followed at all times and apply equally to all members of the party.”
Repeated efforts to contact Mr Stanley yesterday were unsuccessful.
The resignation is another blow for Sinn Féin, which is reeling from recent revelations that two senior party figures in Northern Ireland gave references to a former party press officer who was under investigation for child sex offences. He has since pleaded guilty.
Last week, Kildare TD Patricia Ryan resigned from the party after her local organisation rebelled against being told not to ask Ms McDonald “negative” or “inappropriate” questions at a party event.
There were also reports over the weekend that another senior party figure resigned after allegedly sending inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old party member. The party member was suspended by Sinn Féin in September 2023 and the incident was referred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and social services.
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