A senior Sinn Féin official knew final yr that two of the get together’s press officers supplied references for a former colleague who was being investigated for baby intercourse offences, a charity has stated.
Michael McMonagle was employed by the British Coronary heart Basis in September 2022 after neither reference raised issues about his suitability for employment.
He later admitted the offences.
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s vice-president and Northern Eire’s first minister, confirmed an HR supervisor had been contacted by the charity in August 2023, however added the get together’s management had not been made conscious of this.
In an announcement on Saturday, she described this as “a critical omission”.
Beforehand, Sinn Féin minister Conor Murphy told BBC News NI the get together had solely been conscious of the references since 25 September 2024.
Final month, McMonagle, of Limewood Avenue in Londonderry, admitted a sequence of kid intercourse offences.
O’Neill stated she apologised for the damage and misery brought on by the press officers who supplied the references.
‘Appalled and horrified’
She additionally reiterated Murphy’s declare that the get together management was unaware of the references till just lately.
“On Wednesday 25 September 2024, Sinn Féin and I had been knowledgeable that two press officers, who had been former colleagues of Michael McMonagle, had supplied employment references for him,” O’Neill stated in an announcement.
“I’m completely appalled and horrified that this occurred,” she continued.
“These references got with out the information or authorisation of the get together.
“In no way would the get together present a reference, for work or in any other case, for Michael McMonagle.”
O’Neill additionally stated she apologised “for the damage and misery brought on by their actions”.
The work references had been supplied three months after McMonagle was dismissed from the get together whereas below police investigation.
Sinn Féin stated this occurred with out clearance from the get together and described the press officers’ actions as improper and unacceptable.
O’Neill stated “decisive motion” was taken to make sure that each people “had been held accountable for his or her unacceptable actions”.
In an announcement, the pinnacle of the British Coronary heart Basis, Fearghal McKinney, stated O’Neill had “expressed remorse” about questioning the charity’s due diligence.
Earlier this week, O’Neill stated there have been classes for lots of people when it comes to “due diligence for an employer when they take on an employee”.
She has beforehand denied figuring out that McMonagle had taken up a brand new job with the charity, regardless of the pair attending the identical occasion to help organ donation at Stormont in 2023.
The pair spoke by cellphone on Saturday.
“Michelle O’Neill agreed latest feedback by her and get together colleagues questioning the BHF’s due diligence course of had been unhelpful, and she or he expressed remorse for the injury and upset this has brought on to our devoted workers and supporters,” he stated.
A spokesperson from the British Coronary heart Basis added it has “sturdy recruitment and safeguarding processes”.
Who’s Michael McMonagle ?
McMonagle had labored for Sinn Féin for about seven years, first as a coverage advisor at Stormont and later as a press officer within the north west till his arrest in 2021, after which his employment with the get together ended.
He was then employed by the British Coronary heart Basis charity a yr later, having obtained references from two different former Sinn Féin press officers.
The references, supplied by Seán Magazine Uidhir and Caolán McGinley, raised no “concern about his suitability for employment or referenced an ongoing police investigation or suspension from his earlier employment”, in keeping with the charity.
Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley later resigned after it emerged that they’d supplied the references with out clearance from the get together, who condemned their actions.
In September, McMonagle, of Limewood Avenue in Londonderry, admitted a sequence of kid intercourse offences.
The offences relate to varied dates between Could 2020 and August 2021, and embrace costs of making an attempt to incite two youngsters to have interaction in sexual exercise.
In an announcement launched on Saturday, the charity stated it was “made conscious of the arrest of and subsequent prison costs in opposition to the person by a media question on Saturday twenty ninth July 2023 and we suspended him as quickly as doable on Monday thirty first July 2023”.
It added that it “reviewed the recruitment course of for the person”.
As a part of that evaluate, it continued, “on 3 August 2023 we had e-mail dialogue with a senior Sinn Féin HR official the place we shared that we had two references from Sinn Féin”.
It acknowledged that it’s subsequently “assured that it totally complied with its coverage in relation to acquiring reference checks”.
‘Shut down the story’
On Friday, Democratic Unionist Social gathering chief Gavin Robinson advised the PA information company that the general public was not happy with the solutions supplied to date by Sinn Féin on the difficulty.
He stated: “I feel it’s clear to see that from the outset they tried to close the story down.
“You’ll be able to see that there are new questions rising and solutions that basically aren’t satisfying individuals.”
Talking to BBC Information NI earlier this week, Sinn Féin Minister Conor Murphy stated the get together didn’t warn the British Coronary heart Basis because it might “doubtlessly be prejudicial” to the police investigation.
A number of days later, PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher contradicted Murphy’s claims and said that he did not see how it would have prejudiced the case.
He added that he didn’t need the PSNI to become involved in a political “tit-for-tat”.
On Friday, Alliance chief Naomi Lengthy stated that Sinn Féin should consider whether it’s actions were “appropriate”.