Turmoil in Sinn Féin after revelation that matter related to Brian ...

The Laois-Offaly TD sensationally announced his resignation on Saturday, claiming he had been subjected to a “kangaroo court” after a complaint was made against him.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Ms McDonald said that following an internal disciplinary process to investigate the complaint, the matter had now been referred to gardaí after Mr Stanley announced his resignation.

Ms McDonald said the complaint was made against Mr Stanley at the end of July, which meant party procedures kicked in and a disciplinary panel was set up.

Following Mr Stanley’s resignation announcement on Saturday, Ms McDonald said further legal advice was sought and the matter was then referred to An Garda Síochána yesterday

Mr Stanley’s departure is the latest crisis for Ms McDonald to deal with as she faces into Dáil statements this week on how she handled the fallout from the conviction of former party press officer Michael McMonagle for child sex offences.

The Irish Independent also revealed this weekend that a long-serving Sinn Féin member resigned from the party for sending inappropriate messages to a teenager.

The resignation of this Sinn Féin member was unrelated to the departure of Mr Stanley from the party.

Separately, Kildare TD Patricia Ryan left the party, ahead of the constituency selection convention, saying she felt pushed to go as she was not being listened to.

The processes within Sinn Féin are independent. They are very robust

In an interview with Virgin Media News, Ms McDonald described the initial complaint as “serious”. She said that while information was being gathered in connection with the first complaint, a “counter-allegation” was made.

She said: “A complaint was made to the party against deputy Stanley at the end of July and the party procedures kicked in, a disciplinary panel, as per our rules, was established.

“It was disrupted slightly because of the summer holidays, but it was coming to a point where the initial phase of information gathering was drawing to a close.

“The complaint itself was serious. As matters were inquired upon, a counter-allegation was made – also of a very serious nature. Deputy Stanley, having received the initial report, has clearly disengaged from the process and has chosen to walk away.

“So I was briefed on all of this very late last night. We took further legal advice, and we have now placed the complaint and the counter-allegation in the hands of An Garda Síochána.

“The whole process now has been suspended. And let me stress, I’m not making any allegation of any criminal wrongdoing against anybody, but I am saying, as the party leader that [with] an abundance of caution, I want an investigation to [be pursued to its] conclusion, and therefore we took the decision to place these matters in the hands of An Garda Síochána.”

Ms McDonald also disputed Mr Stanley’s suggestion that he had been subjected to a “kangaroo court”.

She said: “I want to refute that in the strongest possible terms. The processes within Sinn Féin are independent. They are very robust.”

The Irish Independent attempted to contact Mr Stanley for comment yesterday.

The developments heap further pressure on Sinn Féin as the government parties questioned the events around the resignation of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Mr Stanley.

Fianna Fáil PAC member James O’Connor said last night that “if the complaint was serious as suggested by Mary Lou McDonald on RTÉ News, how did Sinn Féin see fit to allow Stanley remain as chair of the PAC?”.

Mr O’Connor also said he will not support a Sinn Féin TD to chair the PAC for the rest of the Dáil term, as he insisted the party “cannot be trusted with such an important position”.

This is a party that is not fit for government, that doesn’t have appropriate structures in place

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the resignation was further evidence that Sinn Féin was “not fit for government”.

Ms McEntee told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics: “You have a party member who is leaving because she says she’s been silenced and you now have a person who is saying that they were subject to a ‘kangaroo court’.

“The last time we heard about ‘kangaroo courts’ in Sinn Féin was when Máiría Cahill went to them and said, ‘I need help, I’ve been raped’ and what she was subjected to was a kangaroo court.

“We now have a member of the party for over 40 years talking about kangaroo courts. Again, this is a party that is not fit for government, that doesn’t have appropriate structures in place.”