Sinn Fein faces flak as its health chief says: Politicians who broke Covid guidelines are arrogant, clearly wrong, and quitting is inevitable

David Cullinane TD made the remarks to RTE after a number of prominent figures were forced to apologise and quit after they attended a large-scale event in apparent defiance of the Republic’s pandemic rules.

It prompted a strong reaction from figures in Northern Ireland, who recalled the breaches of lockdown guidelines by senior Sinn Fein figures at the funeral of leading IRA intelligence figure Bobby Storey on June 30.

That day, a colossal crowd numbering thousands of spectators, as well as a uniformed guard of honour, turned out along the route of the hearse in west Belfast, and then at Milltown Cemetery, where Gerry Adams delivered a speech to the gigantic collection of mourners.

Mr Cullinane made his remarks on an RTE radio show, telling the presenter: “I think it is extraordinary the event went ahead at all. It’s obviously clearly wrong.

“It was in breach of the public health guidelines. And I think it’s extraordinary that a cabinet minister who sat around the cabinet table and made those decisions and supported the guidelines would then breach those guidelines.

“I think it smacks of arrogance. But also I think it adds to the sense of confusion and chaos and dysfunction at the heart of this government. So I think it was inevitable that we would see people have to step down.”

Doug Beattie MLA, justice spokesman for the UUP, said: “For an all-island party, they are so incredibly dislocated and out-of-touch with what’s happening on either side of the border.

“We have a Sinn Fein TD asking for resignations of people who break the guidance in the Irish republic, yet in Northern Ireland the same political party’s leader breaks the guidance and they don’t say a word.

“The message to Michelle is simple: she was wrong in what she did. She knows she was wrong. She undermined herself, her party, and the position of deputy first minister in regards to that funeral.

“Eventually we will have a standards commissioner. And they are going to have to hold all those MLAs, including our deputy first minister, to account...

“I think her position and her credibility and her integrity are now fatally damaged, and yes – she should step down.”

Carla Lockhart, DUP MP for Upper Bann, said in a statement: “Sinn Fein is certainly a partitionist party when it comes to irony.”

She asked this question: “If ministers who breach the rules must resign there, why not here?”

She added that Sinn Fein “brazenly ignored the public outcry at the double standards” displayed by its leaders at the Storey funeral – and that it is therefore “utter hypocrisy” for the party to demand consequences for others who have broken guidelines.

“Sinn Fein’s behaviour at the Storey funeral not only undermined the rules but destroyed the messaging of the Executive.

“The number of covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland is rising.

“One of the biggest problems is mass gatherings in breach of the rules. SF must take their share of responsibility for this,” said Ms Lockhart.

Sinn Fein was invited to comment but did not.

The unionist community is getting older, shrinking, and needs to get serious about the future

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor