Mary Lou McDonald defends handling of Brian Stanley complaint

The leader of Sinn Fein has refused to comment on the specifics of a complaint against former party TD Brian Stanley.

A complaint was made against Mr Stanley at the end of July by a longstanding member of the party.

A panel made up of two senior party members and a barrister, who is also a Sinn Fein member, was set up under the party’s internal disciplinary processes to investigate the complaint.

Mr Stanley announced his resignation from Sinn Fein on Saturday, likening the internal disciplinary process to a kangaroo court.

Mr Stanley, who has been a TD for Laois-Offaly since 2011 and chairman of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, said he is ending his 40-year association with the party and will remain as an independent “Republican TD”.

Sinn Fein referred the initial complaint, and a “serious” counter-allegation that arose during the procedure, to gardai on Sunday.

On Monday, Mary Lou McDonald said the original complaint, which was made through a statement on August 2, was not of a criminal nature.

She said: “Had the initial complaint been of a criminal nature, it would have gone straight to An Garda Siochana.”

Ms McDonald added: “I want to be clear here: I am not in a position to say whether or not the complaint or the counter-allegation meet the standard for criminal investigation. That’s not my job.

“But I am far happier that the complaint and the counter-allegation are now in the hands of the gardai and they can do what they deem to be appropriate.”

Ms McDonald said she does not personally know the person who made a complaint against Mr Stanley.

She said she had been made aware of the existence of the complaint in early August.

However, she said she was not aware of the specifics of the complaint, claiming the whole investigatory process “is at arm’s length to the party”.

“I make no apology to anybody for the fair, impartial observance of the rules and standards of the party,” she said.

Both parties to the complaint were originally due to come back for comment on a preliminary draft on Monday morning but Mr Stanley resigned in the interim.

Ms McDonald said she was first fully briefed on the matter after his resignation on Saturday night.

Asked about the decision to refer the complaint and counter-allegation to gardai, she said: “Yes, I was party to that decision and I stand over it.”

She told RTE radio: “The referral to An Garda Siochana was made in an abundance of caution, because I was not happy, nor would I be happy, with the party left with a serious complaint and a serious counter-allegation.”

She added: “A process has been cut short by Deputy Stanley walking away and I want matters concluded.”

Ms McDonald said the preliminary conclusions of a party investigation into the matter had made no final findings or recommendations, including whether or not the matter should be referred to gardai.

“I am very much in charge of this party and, as the person with whom the buck does stop, I am absolutely insistent that rules and procedures are applied rigorously.

“I appreciate this is probably an unusual thing in Irish public or political life, that actually rules exist and rules are applied, and then the consequences and fallout of those rules becomes manifest, but that’s what you’re seeing here.”

She added: “We are a party that is more than fit for government. We have procedures that work, that holds people to account, and, let me say, in my opinion and in my experience, there has been far too little accountability in Irish public life and in Irish political parties.

“You see under my leadership, without fear – and I will not be cowed on this point – the rules get applied, the processes are respectful, they protect everybody’s rights.

“But where the behaviour falls beneath standards, where there has been wrongdoing, people will face the consequences for it.”

Meanwhile, Ms McDonald said two former party press officers who gave references for an ex-colleague being investigated for child sex offences have faced “the full consequences of their actions”.

Asked about their decision to provide Michael McMonagle with references for a job with the British Heart Foundation, she said they had “acted unilaterally”.

“We’re a large organisation. Like any organisation, you are managing sometimes things you don’t see coming – you’re managing human behaviour, failures, mistakes.”

Asked about an email from the charity to Sinn Fein’s HR department in August 2023, Ms McDonald also said the information “wasn’t passed on as it should have been”.

“I’m not pretending for a second that mistakes weren’t made – they clearly were,” she said.

“Furthermore, I have done something about it – I have now instigated an overhaul of all of our procedures to tighten everything up.”

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