O’Neill ‘deeply sorry’ for damage to charity as she faces MLAs on McMonagle row

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said she is “deeply sorry” for damage caused to the reputation of a charity which employed a former Sinn Fein press officer who was under investigation for child sex offences.

Ms O’Neill faced MLAs in the Stormont Assembly as she was questioned over the ongoing controversy around how she and her party dealt with allegations against Michael McMonagle.

Her appearance came as her party leader Mary Lou McDonald also apologised “for the distress” caused by Sinn Fein’s handling of the McMonagle case and announced the initiation of a “complete overhaul” of its governance procedures to ensure such an incident is “never repeated again”.

The First Minister’s comments in the Assembly were made shortly after deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly distanced herself from Sinn Fein’s “attempts to blame other organisations” in the fallout from the row.

It also followed Assembly confirmation that McMonagle was employed by Ms O’Neill and three other Sinn Fein MLAs across two periods, when his salary was paid for by Assembly allowances provided from the public purse.

Last month, McMonagle, 42, from Limewood Street, Londonderry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He will be sentenced in November.

He was first arrested in August 2021 and Sinn Fein has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.

His term of employment with Sinn Fein at the Assembly formally ended in July 2022.

McMonagle then went on to get a job with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which did not know he was under investigation for child sex offences.

Sinn Fein has been under mounting pressure after it emerged that two former party press officers provided references for McMonagle in 2022 for the BHF job.

The press officers quit more than a week ago after Sinn Fein began disciplinary proceedings against them.

Following days of headlines, Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots selected an urgent question from DUP MLA Diane Dodds which asked if the furore had diminished confidence in the First Minister’s office.

Ms O’Neill said: “As a mother and as a grandmother, I assert my absolute determination, both political and personal, to protecting all children and to protecting all other vulnerable people.”

She then set out the sequence of events which led to the resignation of the two press officers – Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley – as she said “legitimate concerns” had been raised.

She told the Northern Ireland Assembly: “In August 2021, when Michael McMonagle informed Sinn Fein of his arrest and questioning concerning serious criminal offences, the party took decisive action.

“In line with our child protection policy and human resources handbook, he was immediately suspended from party membership and his position as a press officer with his employment terminated in June 2022 when his contract ended.

“I was made aware of his suspension and I had no further contact with him.”

Ms O’Neill repeated her insistence that she did not know McMonagle had attended a Donate for Daithi event at which she was present in February 2023 hosted by the British Heart Foundation.

She said: “My sole focus was on Daithi (Daithi Mac Gabhann – a young Belfast boy in need of a heart transplant) and supporting the family through the works of the campaign and I was not aware that Michael McMonagle was at this event, and I had no knowledge either that he had gained employment with the British Heart Foundation.”

Ms O’Neill then told MLAs she had since established that the charity had contacted her party’s then HR manager last year, after McMonagle was charged.

She said: “This contact from the British Heart Foundation was not brought to my attention or the Sinn Fein leadership at that time, and that was a serious omission.

“Members will know that I spoke with Fearghal McKinney, the head of the British Heart Foundation, to discuss this situation.

“This is an organisation that does sterling work providing support, research and obviously, services, and I am deeply sorry for the reputational damage caused to the British Heart Foundation, and I regret that this has happened, and I apologise for this.”

She added: “I want to be very, very clear that the issue of child safeguarding is of paramount importance to me and I will do everything that I can to ensure that a situation like this never arises again.”

South of the border, Ms McDonald has been under increasing pressure, including from Taoiseach Simon Harris, to address the controversy publicly.

In a statement issued on Monday evening, the Sinn Fein president insisted she had taken “decisive action” when she became aware that the two references had been given.

She said the actions of the two press officers who provided the references were “unforgivable and absolutely unacceptable to me.”

Neither press officer has commented publicly on the references since they quit the party.

“I have asked the incoming general secretary to immediately initiate a complete overhaul of governance procedures within the party,” said Ms McDonald.

“We will do everything necessary to ensure that an incident like this never arises again. The general secretary will take external professional advice in this work.

“I will ensure that there are clear processes so that there are no grey areas whatsoever where an individual has been suspended or ends their employment with Sinn Fein, to  ensure that there are no future issues in relation to handing back work passes and to make absolutely clear that references cannot be provided by individual members of staff.

“There must always be accountability for wrongdoing. That is why when I was made aware of this issue on Wednesday September 25 2024 decisive action was taken. Those who gave references in this case were guilty of gross misconduct, they no longer work for the party and are no longer members of the party.

“I deeply regret that the British Heart Foundation has been caught up in an issue, not of their making. They do incredibly important work and I look forward to continuing our work with them now and in the future.

“I apologise for the distress that has been caused by these events. I am committed to ensuring that an incident like this is never repeated again.”

Earlier, Ms Little-Pengelly urged Sinn Fein to be open and transparent in response to questions around McMonagle.

She told MLAs: “There are serious questions about the current situation that have to be answered and as leaders we have to be honest and we have to be credible, and I think very many people out there will feel it has simply not been credible thus far.

“Therefore, I urge the people involved to be open and honest and credible on this matter.”

Meanwhile, the Assembly has confirmed that McMonagle was paid out of Ms O’Neill’s staffing allowance between March and May 2020, at a time when she was Stormont deputy first minister.

Parties can hire staff from Assembly funds provided to them centrally, or individual MLAs can hire them from their own staffing allowances.

On Monday, in response to a media query from the PA news agency on how McMonagle was paid, an Assembly spokesman said: “Michael McMonagle was employed jointly by former MLAs Daithi McKay and Mitchel McLaughlin in a full-time position from May 6 2014 to October 31 2014.”

The spokesman added: “Michael McMonagle was employed by Michelle O’Neill MLA from March 2 2020 to May 31 2020 and then by Jemma Dolan MLA from June 1 2020 to July 8 2022 in a full-time position.”

Earlier, Mr McKinney, head of the BHF in Northern Ireland, said the charity had suffered reputational damage over the matter.

He said the charity was dismayed when their due diligence appeared to have been questioned last week by senior Sinn Fein figures, including Ms O’Neill.

“This caused enormous distress and anxiety among our staff and unwavering supporters,” he told the BBC.

“It was quite clear that whenever comments were made about due diligence that there was only one other organisation that employed him since he was employed by Sinn Fein, so clearly there was a reflection on us.”

He said any damage to the charity could undermine their good work.

“When this happened and there was damage caused, as we saw it, to our reputation, added damage we thought around the public comments that were made, we had to do something to make sure that the record was put straight,” he said.

“We’re content that we have done everything in our power in order of keeping all our supporters, all our staff and the wider public that’s connected with us safe, and they know that that’s the standard that the British Heart Foundation applies.”