Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said matters relating to a party inquiry into TD Brian Stanley were referred to gardaí on Sunday afternoon following his resignation due to “an abundance of caution”.
Ms McDonald said she was not in a position to comment on the allegation made against Mr Stanley but that had the complaint been of a “criminal nature” it would have been referred to gardaí immediately and the party “wouldn’t have been near it”.
The Irish Times reported on Monday that a Sinn Féin internal inquiry into allegations against Mr 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 inquiry, which is understood to have commenced after a complaint was made about Mr Stanley, had concluded that the allegation made about him was true and that he had breached Sinn Féin’s ethics code. A finding of gross misconduct was made against him.
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Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Monday, the Sinn Féin leader said a complaint was made against Mr Stanley on August 2nd by a long-standing member of the party.
She said a disciplinary panel was set up, headed by a barrister who is a party member and two other senior party members, one from the South and the other from the North of the country. Ms McDonald said a counter allegation was made following the initial complaint, and that a preliminary report was circulated to both parties at the beginning of October.
She said the internal party process had been suspended as Mr Stanley “walked away”, resigning from the party at the weekend – which was “of his doing, not mine”.
The Dublin Central TD said it was at this point she was personally briefed about the nature of the initial complaint and was party to the decision of referring the matter to An Garda Síochána on Sunday afternoon.
“The referral to An Garda Síochána 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 said.
Ms McDonald added that to her knowledge the complainant had not gone to gardaí but that was “absolutely their prerogative” and both parties were free to do so if they wished.
The Sinn Féin leader also said she was not in a position to say whether or not the complaint or the counter allegation “meet the standard for criminal investigation”.
Ms McDonald also insisted her party was more than fit for government and has procedures in place that work and hold people to account.
“In my opinion and in my experience there has been far too little accountability in Irish public life and in Irish political parties,” she said. The Sinn Féin leader said within her party, “without fear”, rules get applied and processes are respectful and protect everybody’s rights but where behaviour falls beneath standards and where there has been wrongdoing, people will face the consequences.
On the question of her leadership, Ms McDonald said: “I lead from the front and I will not be deterred.
“I lead a party that I am extremely proud of and of all of my colleagues, and where there are mistakes and shortfalls, bad behaviour, complaints, they will be dealt with honestly and in accordance with the rules and procedures.
“That is the hallmark of how I and the collective leadership of Sinn Féin [operate] on our watch, this is how our party operates. Accountability matters.”
Ms McDonald added she was “very much” in charge of Sinn Féin and the person “with whom the buck does stop”.
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”.
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