It would be “helpful” for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to provide clarity on the decision to not take an allegation against Conor McGregor to a criminal trial, the leader of Sinn Féin has said.
Hundreds of people marched in solidarity with Ms Hand in Dublin on Monday evening, after she won a civil case against the MMA fighter.
Ms Hand, who accused Mr McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mary Lou McDonald said she wanted to reiterate Sinn Féin’s solidarity with Ms Hand, adding that: “She’s been through a horrible, horrible ordeal.
“I think she deserves – and I think women more broadly deserve – the absolute reassurance that the DPP has really interrogated this matter correctly and has taken the correct course of action.
“I am aware that there is a distinction between a criminal charge and a civil case, and the burden of proof is different in both.
“It’s not for me to do the DPP job for them but I think it is reasonable and I’ve heard it in countless conversations women asking ‘how is it that since the civil case was successful, that a criminal charge was not pursued?’
“And I think in the interest of public confidence, it would be very helpful to have an answer, a response from the DPP on that matter.”
A spokeswoman for the DPP said it does not comment on individual cases, but that documents on general considerations for decisions to prosecute are available on its website.
