Sinn Féin says it told Stanley to go to gardaí during complaint process

By Cillian Sherlock and Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Sinn Féin claims it advised Brian Stanley to go to gardaí over concerns he raised during an internal probe into a complaint against him.

The development came in response to press queries over conflicting timelines offered by Mr Stanley and party leader Mary Lou McDonald, which were characterised by Taoiseach Simon Harris as adding “another layer of confusion and lack of clarity” to the matter.

Earlier, Mr Stanley accused members of Sinn Féin of orchestrating a “character assassination” against him as he said matters relating to the process should have been referred to gardaí “some time” ago.

A long-standing member made an initial contact to the party about Mr Stanley at the end of July. Sinn Féin said she later submitted a full complaint at the start of August.

A panel made up of two other senior party members and a barrister, who is also a Sinn Féin member, was set up under the party’s internal disciplinary processes to investigate the complaint, Ms McDonald said.

It made preliminary filings at the start of this month and invited statements or corrections before the final document was prepared.

Mr Stanley, who has been a TD for Laois-Offaly since 2011 and is chairman of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, announced his resignation from Sinn Féin on Saturday, likening the internal disciplinary process to a kangaroo court.

Sinn Féin then referred the initial complaint, and a “serious” counter-allegation by Mr Stanley that arose during the probe, to gardai on Sunday.

On Monday, Ms McDonald and Mr Stanley both said the original complaint was not of a criminal nature.

She said: “Had the initial complaint been of a criminal nature, it would have gone straight to An Garda Siochana.”

Asked why the matter had since been referred to gardaí, Ms McDonald said: “I want to be clear here: I am not in a position to say whether or not the complaint or the counter-allegation meet the standard for criminal investigation. That’s not my job.

“But I am far happier that the complaint and the counter-allegation are now in the hands of the gardaí and they can do what they deem to be appropriate.”

Also on Monday, Mr Stanley – who rejects the initial complaint – welcomed the referral of the investigation to gardaí, saying: “This has been advocated by me for some time.”

He added that he believed the matter should have been referred to gardai after he and his legal representative brought “certain serious matters” to the attention of the investigatory panel on September 11th.

Mr Stanley claimed an “omerto” (sic) was in place to keep information from him.

Mr Stanley and Ms McDonald initially appeared to offer different timelines for the process.

Speaking on RTE radio on Monday, Ms McDonald said she had not become aware of the specifics of the complaint until after Mr Stanley resigned, claiming the whole investigatory process had been at “arm’s length to the party”.

Sinn Féin later clarified the timeline and confirmed the party leader “had a brief exchange” on July 29th about the potential for a complaint, but its nature was not disclosed.

It added that “he was advised to go to the gardaí” about a concern he raised, but he chose not to.

Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Simon Harris said: “Objectively, today has resulted in more questions than answers.”

He added: “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.”