Sinn Féin has “real issues” in managing issues around sex crimes, the Tánaiste has said, as Mary Lou McDonald announced a “complete overhaul” of its governance procedures.
Micheál Martin said he is “surprised” that Sinn Féin has taken so long to respond to the controversy around former party press officer Michael McMonagle.
On Monday, Ms McDonald apologised for the party’s handling of the sex crime investigation into McMonagle.
Speaking today, Ms McDonald described the decision by two of its former press officers to provide references for a man being investigated for child sex offences as “irresponsible and despicable”.
The Sinn Féin leader said the party was not aware about the job references until recently.
“I have to be honest with you, for the life of me, I cannot explain to you or account to you how anybody, any rational, sane, decent person could have considered giving him any form of reference for anything,” Ms McDonald told the Pat Kenny radio show.
“Not alone did these two individuals act without any authority, they acted unilaterally, irresponsibly, despicably, in my view.
“But they let that situation sit and as the allegations then became charges, and as the case deepened, and bear in mind there was media commentary as to how this was proceeding, at no stage did either individual come forward after the fact to say, look, hands up, we gave these references we shouldn’t have.”
Ms McDonald said she became aware that the two former press officers had provided the references at 11pm on September 25.
Ms McDonald also apologised to the British Heart Foundation after senior Sinn Féin figures appeared to question their due diligence over the appointment of Michael McMonagle.
“That was unfair, and I apologise for that,” Ms McDonald said on Tuesday.
“The Heart Foundation has put out a very extensive statement to which they have itemised all of their actions, and they acted impeccably.
“We dropped the ball. Sinn Féin dropped the ball on this. The fact that that communication had happened was not communicated up the chain. That was an omission and an error.
“But I have to reiterate, in the first instance, the two individuals who wrote these references on their own volition, with no authority, no clearance. It was for them, at every stage to come forward and make us aware that they had done this.”
She added: “I’m so angry with them at this stage that understanding their rationale is, frankly, the least of my concerns.”
On Monday, First Minister and Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill told the Stormont assembly she was “deeply sorry” for damage caused to the reputation of a charity which employed McMonagle after he left the republican party.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Martin said: “I think it is surprising that they would require that governance overhaul on a matter that has been of ongoing concern within society for quite a long time.
“Sinn Féin would have had real issues in the past in terms of managing matters of this kind.
“One only has to refer back to how Mairia Cahill was treated by Mary Lou McDonald and by Sinn Féin at the time. It was shocking, as I recall it.
“I was attacked myself by Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou for raising the Mairia Cahill case and they said some very uncharitable things about me.”
Ms Cahill, who has alleged she was sexually abused by an IRA man at the age of 16, received an apology from Sinn Féin after Ms McDonald expressed regret for how it handled her allegation of rape.
Ms Cahill previously alleged that Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to cover up the offence.
Mr Martin added: “One would have thought that from then onwards that their systems would have been overhauled and also in terms of other cases where people were abused by Provisional IRA members, and these came to light.
“There’s real history here and these were well thrashed out in the Dail in the past and it is surprising it has taken so long to overhaul those governance arrangements.”
Asked if the Sinn Féin leader should make a statement to the Dáil, Mr Martin said: “There are facilities in the Dáil where members can make statements and clarify situations to the Dáil and I think Sinn Féin should avail of that opportunity. ”
Last month, McMonagle (42) from Limewood Street, Derry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He will be sentenced in November.
He was first arrested in August 2021 and Sinn Féin has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.
His term of employment with Sinn Féin at the Assembly formally ended in July 2022.
McMonagle then got a job with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which did not know he was under investigation for child sex offences.
Sinn Féin has been under mounting pressure after it emerged that two former party press officers provided references for McMonagle in 2022 for the BHF job.
