Stormont officials announce 'detailed examination' into salary and expenses around triple-jobbing McMonagle
The Northern Ireland Assembly 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 News Letter can reveal.
It has now emerged that during the period in which the former SF press officer worked in the then-deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s constituency office, he also had two other jobs – working for Sinn Fein as well as one of its MPs.
Meanwhile, neither Sinn Fein or the Northern Ireland Assembly will say whether the then-deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill declared that Michael McMonagle was associated with the party when she employed him in her constituency office in 2020.
Earlier this week the News Letter revealed that former Sinn Fein press officer McMonagle was working in Westminster with the party’s West Tyrone MP Orfhlaith Begley at the same time he was employed in a “full-time” job with Michelle O’Neill at Stormont.
Now, the party has revealed to the Irish News that he was also working for Sinn Fein during that period.
On the face of it, Mr 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.
On Monday, the NI Assembly 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.
MLAs are not entitled to recover the expense if: “a declaration was not made and sent and the member ought reasonably to have known that it must be made and sent; or the declaration was not accurate and the member ought reasonably to have known that it was not accurate”.
McMonagle, according to Sinn Fein’s statement to the Irish News, was working for the party at the time. He was also a member of the party when he was suspended in June 2022 – and had first began working for Sinn Fein MLAs in May 2014 when he was employed jointly by former Assembly members Daithí McKay and Mitchel McLaughlin in a full-time position.
The News Letter asked Sinn Fein and the Assembly if Michelle O'Neill declared Michael McMonagle as an associated person when she claimed for his staffing costs from the Assembly in relation to his employment in 2020.
Neither Stormont officials or Sinn Fein responded.
In response to a separate query in relation to McMonagle’s employment, an Assembly spokesperson said: “In the Assembly Chamber on Monday (7 October), the Speaker informed Members that officials were actively looking at issues that have arisen in relation to Michael McMonagle and whether there are any implications for the Assembly Commission’s processes and procedures. A detailed examination is underway by officials to ensure that there has been compliance with the relevant Assembly Members’ (Salaries and Expenses) Determination (Northern Ireland).”
McMonagle’s employment with both Ms O’Neill and Ms Begley was before his arrest on suspicion of child sex offences. He was later convicted of 14 of the charges.