SINN FÉIN HAS said that former TD Brian Stanley was advised to go to the gardaí about a complaint against him, but he chose not to.
That’s according to the party’s latest statement, which contradicts Stanley’s earlier claim that he asked Sinn Féin to refer the complaint involving him to gardaí last month.
The Laois-Offaly TD resigned from the party late on Saturday, stepping away after 40 years of membership due to what he called a “seriously flawed” internal investigation.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the party undertook an internal disciplinary process to look into a complaint that was made against him in July and that during the investigation a “counter allegation” was made.
McDonald said that a preliminary report was furnished to both individuals – Stanley and the complainant – last week but that, on foot of Stanley’s resignation on Saturday, the internal process has been suspended and the issue has been referred to gardaí.
A statement from a party spokesperson this evening said: “On 29 July, the party leader had a brief exchange with Deputy Stanley as outlined on Morning Ireland today. In that conversation, Deputy Stanley indicated that he thought that a complaint might be made about him. The nature of the potential complaint was not discussed or disclosed.
“The party leader informed him that any complaint, if made, would be dealt with through the party disciplinary process.
“As stated yesterday, during the course of the preliminary inquiry a number of issues of concern were raised including one by Brian Stanley.
“He was advised to go to the gardaí to report this matter but chose not to. He was accompanied by his barrister and solicitor so was fully advised of his rights and entitlements.”
McDonald has said that the party did not initially make a garda referral when it received the original complaint because it had not been of a ‘criminal nature’. She said a referral to gardaí was made yesterday.
In a statement issued today, Stanley claimed he had sought for the referral be made sooner.
“I welcome the fact that Sinn Féin has belatedly referred the “complaint” and matters concerning it to the Gardaí. This has been advocated by me for some time, including to a senior Sinn Féin official,” Stanley said in a statement released through his solicitor.
The party should have referred it to the Gardaí once both myself and my legal representative brought certain serious matters to the attention of the “panel” on 11 September.
He adds: “Mary Lou McDonald has stated correctly that the complaint made against me is not of a criminal nature.”
Stanley, however, disputes the account by his former party leader that his rights were protected throughout the process, something which he says is “totally incorrect”.
He says:
“This complaint, which I refute, was lodged with the party on the very first day (26 July), that the 10-day nomination process opened for members such as myself to be put forward to contest the general election. In my case this had the effect of preventing me of having any hope of contesting it as a Sinn Féin candidate for Laois.”
Stanley goes on to claim he has “written proof” that the party was informed of the allegation on 26 July, disputing a version of events given by McDonald on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One today, when she said the statement from the complainant was received in August.
Stanley also said that he made McDonald aware on 29 July that “certain information” regarding the complaint was being circulated by party members.
He claims that information “had been deliberately kept from me” relating to the nature of the complaint.
“An “omerto” [sic] was in place,” he says in the statement, adding that he instructed a solicitor on 31 July to write to the party to “ascertain what was the nature of this complaint”.
However, Stanley says that in the period between the original complaint being made and him instructing a solicitor to seek information a “process of character assassination was well underway by a certain party clique”.
Speaking on Morning Ireland today, McDonald said she was made aware of the complaint against Stanley in August but that she was not made aware of the nature of the complaint.
“The statement from the complainant was received on 2 August, and the process kicked off from there. Deputy Stanley was made aware of matters on 3 August. Deputy Stanley rejected the complaint,” McDonald said.
She said that under party rules, she was not told the details of what was in the complaint.
She added: “I was made aware in early August that there was a complaint made…..I’m made aware that there is a complaint at that stage, but as per the rules and procedure, I’m not made aware of what the complaint is, the nature of the complaint. It’s very important for the fair processing and conduct of an inquiry like this that there is no suggestion even of interference or influence at all.”
Speaking to reporters about the matter today, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the respective statements from McDonald and Stanley today has “resulted in more questions than answers”.
“My position on this from the start has been very clear, it’s not about engaging in kind of political back-and-forth, it’s about the need for the leader of Sinn Féin to honestly put all of the information out there,” Harris said.
Meanwhile, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTÉ radio today that McDonald’s account that she did not know the nature of the complaint made against Stanley “is not really credible”.
“Sinn Féin need to explain how their leader can claim that she was aware of an issue but didn’t know what the issue was. How can that be credible?” Donohoe said.
“That leads us to ask the question – did she not ask, and if not, why not? And if she did ask but didn’t get an answer, why did that happen too? These are really serious questions that cut the leadership approach of a party that is still aspiring to lead a government.”
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