Assembly's 'initial' probe into salaries and expenses - prompted by triple-jobbing McMonagle - still not complete

The news comes as the TUV seeks clarity on the assembly probe – including whether Sinn Fein has a veto on its outcome and whether any action is being taken to recover assembly funds.

In early October, Stormont officials announced they were conducting a “detailed examination” to ensure that there has been compliance with its rules, in the wake of the McMonagle scandal.

Earlier this month Michael McMonagle, 43, from Limewood Street in Londonderry, was sentenced to nine months in custody and nine months under statutory supervision. He had communicated with a number of online accounts which were run by police officers posing as six children aged between 12 and under 16 years old.

The News Letter had uncovered that during the period in which the former SF press officer worked in the then-deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill’s constituency office, (before he was investigated by police) he also had two other jobs – working for Sinn Fein as well as one of its MPs.

Asked for an update on the investigation, an assembly spokesperson said: “The clerk/chief executive is awaiting the outcome of a review into the initial examination of these matters, to enable her to consider the evidence gathered thus far and determine the nature of any further work or action required.

“However, the Assembly Commission has also been clear that it will not be providing a running commentary on the detail of this process while it is continuing.”

Publish the terms of reference – Gaston

The Assembly must be open and transparent about the terms of reference for its inquiry, TUV MLA Timothy Gaston says.

The North Antrim MLA, who sits on Stormont’s Executive Office committee, says that basic information about the remit of the investigation needs to be made public.

Timothy Gaston told the News Letter: “No one is asking the Assembly Commission to provide a running commentary on a live investigation.

“It is reasonable, however, to both request and expect to be published the terms of reference to which the investigation is working.

“What questions has the Chief Executive been asked to explore? Will she, for example, look into how many days a week McMonagle worked in Ms O'Neill's office?

“Will Ms O'Neill be interviewed? Will Philip McGuigan be asked why he didn't cancel McMonagle's pass until long after Sinn Fein knew he was accused of child sex offences?

“There is no reason why the terms of reference cannot be published now.

“Furthermore, we do not know the time scale to which the investigation is working. Has the Chief Executive been set a deadline to report back to the Commission? When will her findings be published?

“There is an awful lot about this process which would benefit from transparency.”

Very little detail about what the probe entails has been released to the public – despite repeated questions from the media and Mr Gaston over recent weeks.

Expenses probe led by Assembly Chief Executive

The assembly’s review is being led by Lesley Hogg, the assembly clerk. The News Letter understands that the TUV MLA Timothy Gaston has written to Mrs Hogg, asking her to explore issues which have been rejected by the Assembly Commission while her investigation is ongoing.

The North Antrim MLA has provided a series of questions he expects any probe to consider – and sought clarity on its terms of reference.

These include whether Sinn Fein has a veto on the terms of reference or the findings of the investigation – and whether any action is being taken to recover assembly funds used to employ McMonagle as a Sinn Fein press officer.

Mr Gaston has also sought information about the access that paedophile McMonagle had access to Parliament Buildings after being charged by the police.

In October, the News Letter asked the assembly what the terms of reference for the probe are – and whether the SF member of the commission had a veto on proposals, and whether that had been used. However, assembly officials said it would not provide a “running commentary”.

On the face of it, McMonagle appears to have been extremely busy in early 2020 – working for the deputy first minister in her local office full time, as well as for Órfhlaith Begley in Westminster – and acting as a ‘part time’ spin doctor for Sinn Fein.

The NI Assembly has previously confirmed that Michael McMonagle was employed by Michelle O’Neill from March 2020 to May 2020 – when the SF politician was Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister.

The assembly income McMonagle received from Michelle O’Neill was not declared on a Westminster register for MPs’ staff. The party did not respond to News Letter questions on the matter, but in a statement to the Irish News appeared to blame Covid, saying the “cross over period” had taken place “in the early stages of the pandemic”.

They said it was McMonagle’s “personal responsibility to make all declarations in relation to his employment”.

“We are aware that Michael McMonagle paid back money to Westminster because of overpayments in this period from 1st June to October 2020. He was then employed by Jemma Dolan from 1st June 2020 to June 2022,” the party said.

Assembly rules state that where an MLA seeks to recover, or have the Assembly Commission pay, staff costs for an “associated person”, it must be declared.

An associated person includes members, employees or officers of a political party.

Payroll forms require a declaration if the employee meets these criteria, as well as details of the association. The MLA and employee then sign off the form to confirm that the information provided is accurate.

In a controversial evidence session in the Assembly’s Executive Office committee at the end of October, ​Mr Gaston asked Ms O’Neill how many days the former Sinn Fein press officer had worked in her office, but both she and the committee chair Paula Bradshaw deemed the matter not relevant to the committee.

The first minister said: “All I would say chair is that I take my pledge of office very seriously, that I take the use of public funds very seriously, that I would stand over my role in all of those things.”

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: “All assembly rules and procedures in relation to the employment and payment of staff are properly followed.”