A MOTION TO approve Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell as the new chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is to go before the Dáil next week. 

Sinn Féin nominated Farrell for the position after PAC chair Brian Stanley resigned from the party last Saturday over an inquiry into a complaint made against him by a party colleague. 

The fallout from his surprise resignation has seen differing accounts of who knew what and when, with McDonald and Stanley giving different dates for when the complaint against him was made.

A number of TDs said earlier this week that they would not support a new Sinn Féin PAC chairperson due to the recent controversies engulfing the party.

However, at a meeting of the Dáil Committee of Selection, all parties unanimously agreed to Farrell’s name going forward.

It is understood that a number of queries and concerns were raised about procedures around the D’Hondt system, which allows Sinn Féin to nominate the chairperson of the PAC, given that Stanley, who remains a TD is now independent after he resigned from the party. 

Dáil motion

A motion without debate on the new chair will go before the Dáil on Tuesday for approval. There are mixed views among parties as to whether anyone will call a vote on the issue. 

Sinn Féin Chief Whip Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said today in a statement that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour should remain consistent with the position they agreed to at the Dáil Committee of Selection today.

Mac Lochlainn said the party is proud to nominate Farrell as the first woman chairperson of the committee and also to nominate TD Matt Carthy to join the committee. 

“Throughout this week, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party representatives have all said publicly that they would not support the right of Sinn Féin to nominate a new chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.

“Despite everything they have said publicly, when it was put to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party at the Dáil Committee of Selection today by the Ceann Comhairle that Mairéad Farrell would be nominated as chair of the PAC and that Matt Carthy would join the committee, the proposal was unanimously agreed to by all parties.

“Oireachtas committees are based on the strength of political representation in the Dáil and Seanad, and are totally democratic,” he said, stating that it would be unprecedented to attempt to intervene in this democratic process.

Speaking to reporters today, Social Democrats Holly Cairns said her party would not be blocking the appointment of Farrell to the job next week.

She said there is no precedent for the lead opposition party being prevented from putting someone into the position of chair.

“So it’s not something that we’re going to block or object to,” she said, adding that there are a number of issues that Sinn Féin must still clarify around the ongoing controversies.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy chaired the PAC today in the interim until the new chairperson is appointed.