Sinn Fein failed to return the Stormont security pass of a former party employee under investigation for sex offences and also did not alert the Assembly authorities to the allegations, the devolved parliament has said.
The Assembly Commission, the body that oversees the running of Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, also confirmed it only cancelled Michael McMonagle’s pass this week – more than three years after his initial arrest.
In response, Sinn Fein said the pass should have been revoked when the party suspended press officer McMonagle after learning of the police investigation.
The revelations from the commission emerged as two Stormont ministers questioned Sinn Fein’s failure to alert a charity – which went on to hire McMonagle – that he was subject to a police probe.
Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle (PA)
Justice Minister and Alliance party leader Naomi Long and DUP Education Minister Paul Givan both raised concerns about their coalition partner’s handling of the case.
Mr Givan’s comments came after his own party leader Gavin Robinson insisted Sinn Fein had not given satisfactory answers as to why it did not make the British Heart Foundation (BHF) aware of the fact that McMonagle was under investigation when he applied for a job with the charity.
South of the border, Taoiseach Simon Harris called on Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald to put all the facts on the table about the party’s knowledge surrounding McMonagle, insisting it was not a minor matter that can be “ducked and dived”.
Last month, McMonagle, 42, from Limewood Street, Londonderry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
McMonagle was first arrested in August 2021. Sinn Fein has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.
The Assembly Commission said his term of employment with Sinn Fein at the Assembly formally ended in July 2022.
McMonagle took up a position with the British Heart Foundation in September 2022. However, the charity has said it was not made aware that he was facing investigation.
Two Sinn Fein press officers resigned last Saturday after it emerged they had given references for McMonagle for the charity job. Sinn Fein has said the references were provided without clearance from the party and described the press officers’ actions as “unacceptable and wrong”.
However, party vice president Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Fein Economy Minister Conor Murphy this week both insisted it was not the responsibility of the party to inform the BHF that McMonagle had been facing allegations. Mr Murphy claimed that to do so could have prejudiced the police investigation.
But Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told the Policing Board on Thursday that he could not see how passing on information would have harmed the investigation.
Economy Minister Conor Murphy and First Minister Michelle O’Neill have faced questions over their handling of the situation (PA)
On Friday, the Assembly Commission said Sinn Fein had not returned McMonagle’s security pass or informed it of his arrest or suspension by the party.
The commission said the pass sponsor (which is either the party or an individual MLA) should return the pass once the holder leaves their employment.
“This did not occur in this case,” the commission said in a statement.
“The Assembly Commission was not informed of the allegations against Michael McMonagle, or his suspension, or at any time asked to suspend or cancel Mr McMonagle’s pass.
“In light of recent circumstances, the Assembly Commission cancelled Mr McMonagle’s pass on October 1 2024.”
The commission said it was reviewing its procedures to ensure such an incident does not arise again and all passes are returned when periods of employment end.
In a statement, Sinn Fein said: “When Michael McMonagle’s employment was suspended his pass should have been revoked.”
Earlier, Ms Long urged Sinn Fein to engage in some “self-reflection” in regard to how it handled the case..
“I think that all of us, when we are confronted with a situation like that, need to be capable of self-reflection,” she told the BBC.
“We need to look at what we could do better in those circumstances were they to reoccur, and we need to learn lessons of what went wrong.
“So I do think that there are questions that Sinn Fein should be asking themselves, and questions that they have to answer in terms of, for example, why they didn’t report to a new employer that the individual in question was under investigation? I think that’s a significant question that they need to reflect on whether that was appropriate or not.”
Mr Givan went a step further and specifically called on Mr Murphy to apologise in light of Mr Boutcher’s statement.
“Sinn Fein, I think now need to be much more transparent around this particular issue,” he told the BBC.
“Conor Murphy made a statement that the Chief Constable now has very clearly contradicted. I think he should step forward and apologise for that, because I think there’s a clear need when it comes to the safeguarding issue and the protection, particularly of children, that there is no confusion as to what the public should do in these circumstances and how organisations should respond.”
Meanwhile, DUP leader Mr Robinson told the PA news agency that the public were not satisfied with the answers provided so far by Sinn Fein on the issue.
“I think it is clear to see that from the outset they tried to shut the story down,” he said.
“I think over the last number of days you can see that there are new questions emerging and answers that really aren’t satisfying people.
“When you consider safeguarding and the safety of children particularly, it is crucially important.
“So, where there still are questions to be answered, they should be answered fully and satisfactorily.”
Mr Robinson said Sinn Fein’s position that it could not alert the charity to the McMonagle allegations had been contradicted.
He said: “One, they have a responsibility where they have an employee who is under investigation and being charged for such offences, they have a responsibility to make that information known, particularly to the disbarring service.
“Secondly and separately, I think there was a suggestion that to do anything would compromise the investigation and the Chief Constable has very clearly and very quickly shut that down.
“Just as there are questions to be answered, they need to provide those answers to the satisfaction of the wider general public.”
Earlier this week, Ms O’Neill said she was “aghast and horrified” that two Sinn Fein press officers provided a reference for McMonagle.
Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley resigned as press officers on Saturday.
It also emerged that while McMonagle was working for the BHF he attended an event at Stormont in February 2023 which was also attended by Ms O’Neill.
The Sinn Fein vice president has said she was not aware that McMonagle was present at the event.
The Assembly Commission said he did not use his Assembly pass to access the event and instead gained entry with a one-day visitor’s pass.
The Assembly holds access data for up to three months and was also able to confirm that McMonagle had not used his pass to access the building in the last 90 days.
McMonagle pleaded guilty at Londonderry Crown Court last month to 14 offences of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
The offences dated between May 2020 and August 2021.
He is due to be sentenced in November.