Sinn Féin has “real issues” in managing issues around sex crimes, the Tánaiste has said, as Mary Lou McDonald announced a “complete overhaul” of its governance procedures.
Micheál Martin said he is “surprised” that Sinn Féin has taken so long to respond to the controversy around former party press officer Michael McMonagle.
On Monday, Ms McDonald apologised for the party’s handling of the sex crime investigation into McMonagle.
The Sinn Féin president has come under intensifying pressure to address the matter publicly.
On Monday, Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill told the Stormont Assembly she was “deeply sorry” for damage caused to the reputation of a charity which employed McMonagle after he left the republican party.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Martin said: “I think it is surprising that they would require that governance overhaul on a matter that has been of ongoing concern within society for quite a long time.
“Sinn Féin would have had real issues in the past in terms of managing matters of this kind.
“One only has to refer back to how Mairia Cahill was treated by Mary Lou McDonald and by Sinn Féin at the time. It was shocking, as I recall it.
“I was attacked myself by Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou for raising the Mairia Cahill case, and they said some very uncharitable things about me.”
Ms Cahill, who has alleged she was sexually abused by an IRA man at the age of 16, received an apology from Sinn Féin after Ms McDonald expressed regret for how it handled her allegation of rape.
Ms Cahill previously alleged that Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to cover up the offence.
Mr Martin added: “One would have thought that from then onwards that their systems would have been overhauled and also in terms of other cases where people were abused by Provisional IRA members, and these came to light.
“There’s real history here and these were well thrashed out in the Dail in the past and it is surprising it has taken so long to overhaul those governance arrangements.”
Asked if the Sinn Féin leader should make a statement to the Dáil, Mr Martin said: “There are facilities in the Dail where members can make statements and clarify situations to the Dáil and I think Sinn Féin should avail of that opportunity. ”
Last month, McMonagle, 42, from Limewood Street, Londonderry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He will be sentenced in November.
He was first arrested in August 2021 and Sinn Féin has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.
His term of employment with Sinn Féin at the Assembly formally ended in July 2022.
McMonagle then got a job with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which did not know he was under investigation for child sex offences.
Sinn Féin has been under mounting pressure after it emerged that two former party press officers provided references for McMonagle in 2022 for the BHF job.
