Analysis: Sinn Fein's finances are now in the spotlight over the Michael McMonagle paedophile scandal

Since news that Sinn Fein had provided references for a man under police investigation for child sex offences emerged a fortnight ago, the republican party has been trying desperately to close the story down by placing all of the blame on two former press officers – Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley – and an unnamed HR official.

The former spin doctors didn’t flag up to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) what McMonagle was accused of – and when the charity found out and queried the references, SF claim only an unnamed HR official was aware. Despite the political timebomb on their desk, this person apparently didn’t alert anyone else in the party.

Added to all that, Michelle O’Neill maintains she didn’t see McMonagle stood yards from her at a BHF event – and nor did any of at least five SF people also there, including the now junior minister Aisling Reilly, who has been shielded from questioning on the issue by O’Neill. The First Minister seemingly took no interest in where her former employee was, despite the gravity of the charges he faced.

Aside from the party’s handling of a now-convicted paedophile, the issue of how it spends public money funds is now under the spotlight because of the triple-jobbing McMonagle.

Sinn Fein hasn’t volunteered any of the information now in the public domain - but individual MLAs are now under scrutiny, and they won't have a choice.

For years, there has been speculation about who actually calls the shots Sinn Fein. In 2015 it was the view of the police and intelligence services that the IRA’s so-called Army Council oversees both PIRA and Sinn Féin. They’ve never said that assessment has changed. In that context, perhaps some could be forgiven for thinking that Sinn Fein MLAs aren’t accountable for their actions in the same way as every other politician at Stormont – that they are somehow pawns in a bigger machine.

Except they are every bit as accountable for their actions as every other elected politician, and SF’s representatives are ultimately responsible for every aspect of the party’s culture. Because if they aren’t, who is?

MLAs are elected by, and accountable to, the public – not unnamed shadowy backroom figures.

That is why the series of revelations from the News Letter and others in the past week about who employed McMonagle and when – and what they did or didn’t do when they knew about the allegations is so crucial.

Last Friday, we revealed that McMonagle’s Stormont pass had never been revoked while he was employed by Sinn Fein MLA Jemma Dolan and officials weren’t informed about the police investigation. It’s not even clear when the Fermanagh MLA herself knew. We also discovered that in recent years McMonagle was employed – not by Sinn Fein was as widely assumed – but by MLAs, Michelle O’Neill and Ms Dolan.

Then the News Letter uncovered that he had been double-jobbing, working for both Michelle O’Neill and Órfhlaith Begley at Westminster. By Thursday – Sinn Fein had told the Irish News he was also working for the party at that time.

Neither the Assembly nor Sinn Fein would say whether Michelle O'Neill followed Stormont rules and declared Michael McMonagle as an ‘associated person’ when she claimed for his staffing costs. Transparency on that is a requirement if money is to be paid out by the Assembly.

That issue is one of many that will now be pored over by officials. The Northern Ireland Assembly says is conducting a “detailed examination” to ensure that there has been compliance with its rules on salaries and expenses over Michael McMonagle’s employment at Stormont.

The reason all of this is important is that as far as journalists or the public knew, Michael McMonagle worked for Sinn Fein. It was only since the scandal broke – and because the Assembly answered media questions – that we know who was actually responsible for employing him. That is Michelle O’Neill, Jemma Dolan, Órfhlaith Begley and the party at various points. Sinn Fein didn’t volunteer any of this information.

Whether these jobs – and any associated expenses claimed – were in line with Assembly rules will be the focus of its probe. They will be looking at the contracts of employment and the declarations made by MLAs – and that is the direct line of accountability. What legislator could credibly blame anyone but themselves for any shortcomings found? Certainly not the then-deputy First Minster Michelle O’Neill.

If the scrutiny of these events is left to what Sinn Fein did or didn’t know internally – and when they did or didn’t know it – we may discover very little about what really went on.

However, Stormont has been widely criticised as ineffectual in the past fortnight – at one stage a committee chair agreed with the first minister that she’d answered a question she plainly hadn’t.

Despite that, the secrecy around Sinn Fein’s publicly-funded financial arrangements is about to end. Who is actually running its Stormont operation, and keeping crucial information from the First Minister is, however, another story.