Michelle O’Neill will face questions in the Northern Ireland Assembly regarding how Sinn Féin dealt with former press officer and now child sex offender Michael McMonagle.
The urgent question, submitted by the DUP MLA Diane Dodds, asks if confidence in her office as first minister has been diminished.
Michael McMonagle of Limewood Street in Londonderry is currently awaiting sentencing after admitting to a series of child sex offences.
He was employed by the the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in September 2022 after references given by former colleagues in Sinn Féin did not raise concerns about his suitability for employment.
O’Neill, who is Sinn Féin vice-president, has apologised for the hurt and distress caused by the press officers who provided the references and said she was she was “aghast and horrified”.
‘Child protection and safeguarding’
Dodds’ question asks the first minister given her “departmental responsibilities towards victim and survivors of childhood abuse and children in relation to how she and her party managed issues of child protection and safeguarding following the arrest of Mr Michael McMonagle have diminished confidence in her office”.
O’Neill admitted over the weekend that “serious omissions” were made in earlier accounts provided by the party over references given for McMonagle from two press officers.
The speaker Edwin Poots said the house was responsible for holding ministers to account and “every member should be heard.
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley said last week’s “disturbing developments” raised questions about McMonagle’s access to Stormont’s parliamentary buildings and whether the assembly’s safeguarding policy had been compromised.
The Assembly Commission has been contacted for comment.
Both the DUP and SDLP have called for “full transparency” and demanded the first minister appear before MLAS to face questions.
‘Distress and anxiety’
SDLP leader Claire Hanna also called for a “clear chronology” of events from Sinn Féin.
And Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who is the Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, called for Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald to speak in the dáil (upper house of the Irish parliament).
Speaking on Good Morning Ulster, she called for “straightforward acknowledgment” from the party, including a statement about what McDonald and “her officials and party leaders knew and when”.
Poots said that the issues being raised by members was “concerning” and officials have been active in looking at issues in relation to the Assembly Commisison processes and procedures.
However, he added “members and parties ultimately have responsibility for the staff that they employ” and MLAs must comply to regulations including “issuing and returning of staff passes to the building and the “sharing of information with the Assembly commission when such serious situations arise”.
