Sinn Féin denies claims of bullying culture

Gerry Adams and Mary Lou McDonald have denied claims there is a culture of bullying bubbling beneath the surface of their party.

The Sinn Féin’s leader and his deputy have rejected claims by a number of colleagues subjected to alleged abuse, describing the issues as “growing pains” and “aches and bumps” in separate interviews with the Irish Examiner.

In recent months Sinn Féin has been beset with disputed bullying allegations, including controversies surrounding former TD Sandra McLellan, five Kildare councillors, and a Westmeath councillor who last month claimed “bullying is rife in Sinn Féin”.

The party has always rejected allegations of bullying in the party.

Speaking to this newspaper in recent days, both Mr Adams and Ms McDonald denied Sinn Féin has a problem with bullying and sought to dismiss the concerns as being nothing out of the ordinary.

Asked about the claims, Mr Adams said his party has a “zero tolerance” to bullying and that while “local disputes” happen, his party does not have a culture which prevents members from speaking out.

“We have zero tolerance for bullying. So what you’re seeing here in some of these cases is local rows.

“The media might be more interested in it than [incidents in] other parties, but my main point is zero tolerance in the party. Yes, there are local disputes, but they’re not to do with strategy or policy. It’s just part of the human condition.

“Some of it’s growing pains. Sin é. I can’t respond to that in any other way,” he said.

Asked about the same issue during a separate interview, Ms McDonald similarly denied that a problem exists, saying “you will have all the aches and pains and bumps and bullying in every organisation”.

“To accuse somebody of bullying is a very serious allegation, to be on the receiving end of bullying is horrific, so we have very strong procedures and processes like any good workplace, like any good organisation,” she said.

“We endeavour to ensure people are fully aware of those processes and where they feel that they have a case to raise that they raise them in that forum and that it’s dealt with in that forum.

“As it becomes more diverse and as new people come in and so on, well of course you are going to have at times issues, interpersonal issues, you can have personality clashes, you can have all of that.

“But bullying is different, bullying has a precise meaning and it’s a much more serious thing than people just not getting along or having a clash.

“Sinn Féin is a fairly harmonious, fairly friendly and increasing outward-looking organisation. Personally, I would not be comfortable and I would not be happy and I would not stand over an organisation in which bullying was rampant, but that’s not the case in the party.”

Sinn Féin has been repeatedly criticised or a series of bullying allegations, with former Cork East TD Sandra McLellan alleging the abuse in 2015 which led to a full-scale internal party review.