Stormont backs criticism of NI Assembly report prompted by Sinn Fein press officer scandal
MLAs have backed a TUV motion which said a Northern Ireland Assembly report into salaries and expenses – prompted by the Michael McMonagle scandal – had ‘muddied the waters’ over rules for how public funds are used at Stormont.
It also called on the First Minister Michelle O’Neill to correct the Assembly record when she said that Michael McMonagle worked as a press officer – despite it since emerging that he was paid by public money to work in Sinn Fein MLAs’ constituency offices.
The scandal over disgraced former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle – .who was jailed last year after being found guilty of a number of child sex offences – prompted a review of how public money is spent at Stormont.
In the wake of his suspension from Sinn Fein over the matter, and his subsequent conviction, questions emerged about McMonagle’s employment when the News Letter revealed that he had been employed by Sinn Fein MLAs as constituency office staff, and at one point in 2020 had three jobs, including for Michelle O’Neill.
A review launched by the Assembly revealed that Sinn Fein MLAs’ staff have been handled by a centralised HR service provided by the party – and judged that it it “strains credibility” that the party wasn’t aware that he held down a number of jobs until years after the event.
However, its methodology and some of its findings drew criticism. It was a “paper based exercise” and included no interviews with anyone involved. It also apportioned almost all of the blame for the employment scandal on the convicted sex offender himself, contrasting his character to that of the MLAs – including Michelle O’Neill – who employed him.
The First Minister has previously described the probe as “a very useful piece of work”. She said Sinn Fein “fully worked” with the Assembly Commission on the review which she called “very fulsome”.
On Tuesday, a non-binding motion was brought to the Assembly by North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston, who said the review by Assembly officials “not consider the matter in a robust way, it did not follow due process, and it did not examine the evidence”. He said this was “par for the course when it comes to Stormont”.
Mr Gaston cited part of the report which stated “Ms O’Neill has been a Northern Ireland Minister since 2011, becoming dFM in 2020 and First Minister in 2024, in which period there is no record of any complaint under the Ministerial Code of Conduct or Assembly Members’ Code of Conduct against her being upheld”.
Mr Gaston said: “The review report's author might as well have added, ‘And who am I to question her integrity now or make a finding against her?’. The truth is that there was plenty of evidence to lead one to conclude that Sinn Féin, including Ms O'Neill, was using public funds meant for constituency offices in order to fund its press operation”.
Sinn Fein’s Philip Mcguigan – who was the “named sponsor” for Mr McMonagle’s Stormont pass which was not revoked until October last year – welcomed the report and criticised Mr Gaston’s description of it as a “whitewash”.
The North Antrim MLA said: “It is incumbent on every Member of the Assembly to acknowledge the work of the Assembly staff, who acted with unquestionable integrity and independence in conducting the review. Mr Gaston might not like the outcome – that is his prerogative – but his description of the report as ‘a whitewash’ is insulting and offensive and should be withdrawn”.
DUP MLA Diane Dodds told the chamber that Sinn Féin has legitimate questions to answer. She pointed to a finding in the report that McMonagle had on paper worked up to 80 hours a week and had three separate contracts of employment in a three-month period.
“How, when we are told that Sinn Féin had a central HR team responsible for recruitment, was that even possible? Are we really expected to believe that Michelle O'Neill, as the leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, was not across the detail of who was employed by the party and by her during that period?”.
Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said “No competent employer could fail to notice an employee working two full-time jobs and a part-time job simultaneously, not least when all three of those positions relate to one political party and the Member in question is part of its leadership team. That stretches credibility to its elastic limit”.
UUP deputy leader Robbie Butler said while he agreed with “most of the elements of the motion” – progress “has already been made”. Mr Butler said the review’s findings “raise questions about whether enough has been done to fully investigate potential breaches and ensure that lessons are learned”.
Sinn Fein MLAs remained tight-lipped on the matter, with Philip McGuigan their only MLA to comment on the motion, which was passed without a recorded vote.