SINN FÉIN DEPUTY Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that it is “reprehensible” if the IRA carried out its own investigation into sexual abuse claims.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio this afternoon, she also said that if anyone has any information on alleged sexual abuse, she “would appeal to them to come forward”.
It has been claimed by Maíria Cahill that the republican movement essentially convened a ‘kangaroo court’ to deal with her alleged abuse at the hands of a person within the IRA.
McDonald said:
“If it were a thing that for anybody the IRA conducted an investigation into a matter of sexual abuse, that is clearly wrong. It’s reprehensible, it is entirely wrong, it is entirely inappropriate, it is absolutely not the way to deal with complaints of offences of this nature.”
She said she is still open to meeting with Maíria Cahill.
McDonald said that it is not true to say that Sinn Féin is “sitting on information and covering up child abuse” and that the party is “not in the possession of information as regards child abuse” and that it is not refusing to cooperate with any garda investigation.
Yesterday, after an interview with Cahill was broadcast on RTÉ in which she said hers was not an isolated case, Gerry Adams reiterated his position in relation to his conversation with Cahill.
He also said:
Anyone who has any information whatsoever about any child abuse should come forward to the authorities north or south and they will have the full support of Sinn Féin in so doing.
Maíria Cahill is to meet with the Northern Irish First Minister Peter Robinson on Monday and Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he is also to meet with her.
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