Mary Lou McDonald has fostered a “culture of concealment” in Sinn Féin and is "not fit to lead any government", the Finance Minister has warned.
Jack Chambers was speaking as Sinn Féin battles three major controversies with the prospect of an election now looming large on the horizon.
In the Dáil yesterday, Mary Lou McDonald defended Sinn Féin’s decision to withhold the reason then-Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile resigned his position last year – hours after he confirmed that he had stepped down from his role due to “inappropriate messages” he had sent to a teenager.
She also attacked former Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley – using Dáil privilege to say that a complaint the party received against him was ‘very serious’ and noting that the alleged incident had left the complainant ‘traumatised and distressed’.
That came just days after the party became embroiled in a scandal over work references two Sinn Féin staffers gave to an ex-colleague who was being investigated for child sex offences.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Finance Minister Jack Chambers suggested Mary Lou McDonald misled the Dáil regarding Senator Ó Donnghaile’s resignation.
“There are serious and fundamental concerns now about the governance of Sinn Féin as a party,” he said.
“I think it sends a chill down the spine of many people when you hear about omertas, kangaroo courts and then, even in recent years, we had one TD refer to psychological warfare when it came to Sinn Fein.
“So it's clear that Sinn Fein is a party that is putting its party’s interest above people.
“This is a party that purports to propose itself as a party of change, but if they're not fit to govern their own affairs, how are they fit to run a government?
“They clearly can't be trusted and it shows a total disrespect and disregard to the Oireachtas, how they've acted in recent years – the behaviour of Sinn Féin has been a disgrace.”
He said Mary Lou McDonald is "not fit to lead any government", claiming she has lost control of her own party and is putting Sinn Fein’s interests over the public good.
“I believe Mary Lou McDonald's leadership is seriously questionable,” said Minister Chambers. “She clearly has no capacity to run the affairs of her own party.”
“Leadership is about doing the right thing in the public interest and being able to govern your own party and to promote the party's position to the public and clearly, she's been incapable of doing that.
“She has brought that culture of concealment to the management of these affairs, which I think raises very serious questions for Sinn Fein whenever the next election is held.”
— CLG Laochra Loch Lao (@LaochraLochLao) October 15, 2024
Mr Ó Donnghaile also yesterday resigned from his ambassadorial role at the West Belfast GAA club Laochra Loch Lao.
Minister Chambers said Sinn Féin should have informed the club about the allegations against the then-senator as soon as they emerged.
The GAA club has confirmed that he only ever held an ambassadorial role and never had any contact with children or vulnerable groups.
Also on the show, Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson said Sinn Féin referred the Ó Donnghaile text messages to police in Northern Ireland as soon as it became aware of them.
When it was put to him that Sinn Féin had issued a misleading statement on Mr Ó Donnghaile’s resignation, he said “Mary Lou issued a statement wishing him well”.
He said a call was made at the time not to release the details of the complaint against him “for his mental health and his safety”.
“We have put on the record of the Dáil the reasons in relation to the statement and the reason why we did not make it clear at that time that Niall Ó Donnghaile had resigned from the party,” he said.
“That was very clearly out of a real concern - a genuine concern - not only for the individual’s mental health but for the individual’s safety.”
Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty outside the Department of Finance, 25-09-2024. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNewsHe rejected claims Sinn Féin tried to cover up the accusations against Mr Ó Donnghaile – noting that the party escalated the matter to PSNI as soon as it became aware of it.
In her speech yesterday Mary Lou McDonald said Sinn Féin decided not to release the reason for Mr Ó Donnghaile’s departure after doctors informed the party he was “suffering from a mental health crisis”.
She noted that the party were concerned that “publicly naming him would be dangerous to his health”.
You can listen back to Pearse Doherty's interview here:
You can listen back to Minister Chamber's interview here:
