Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley will not resign or even take questions

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said on Monday morning Mr Stanley will not announce his resignation as PAC chair when he makes a statement to the Dáil about his controversial tweets. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will not resign his position over controversial remarks he made linking the War of Independence to the Northern Ireland troubles.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley will make a statement to the Dáil on Tuesday, but will not resign or take questions over his remarks, for which he has already apologised.

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said on Monday morning that Mr Stanley will not announce his resignation as PAC chair when he makes a statement to the Dáil about his controversial tweets.

“He will make a personal statement to the Dáil as he was requested by the Ceann Comhairle. Brian will set out his stall, make his position clear. Brian is an honourable person,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

Mr Stanley would not be taking questions, she said as individual members of the House, no matter to which party they belong, were answerable and accountable to the people, not to the Dáil.

McDonald: 'Individual members of the House are not accountable to the Dáil

Brian Stanley would not be taking questions, she said as individual members of the House, no matter to which party they belong, were answerable and accountable to the people, not to the Dáil. Picture: Oireachtas TV/PA Wire

“Individual members of the House are not accountable to the Dáil, they are accountable to the people, but any one of us can avail of the opportunity to make a personal statement and that is what Brian has done within the rules. That does not involve the taking of questions, it never has.” 

Asked if Sinn Féin, as a party, has a problem with the behaviour of its members on social media, Ms McDonald said everybody needed to be mindful of what they posed online.

“I think certainly the Sinn Féin deputies have learned a very valuable lesson and it’s this, that if others, whoever they may be, choose to go through your posts over years and years and years back and if they're going to find things that are ill judged or frankly, silly, well then they will use that to put you behind the eight ball and to score a political point against you,” the Dublin Central TD said.

“That's the lesson here more generally on the use of social media platforms, which by the way are powerful platforms, very often platforms for the good, for the telling of stories, the relaying of information, for rallying opinion and campaigns for the good, very often, but they can also be misused or sloppily used, - there's a lesson in that for all of us.” 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that in his opinion Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley could take questions at the Public Accounts Committee about his controversial tweets.

“He could very well take questions, there's no issue there in terms of why he wouldn't,” Mr Martin said.

“I do accept that ordinarily it is Government ministers who take questions, but I do think in relation to some of his tweets, particularly in relation to what he said in terms of Narrow Water Bridge and the British establishment, the murder of Lord Mountbatten and those young boys, which I think was one of the great crimes against humanity that we experienced over the last 40 years.

“I think he needs to apologise for that and also for the tweet in relation to the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar which is something I think he needs to account for.” 

Asked if Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald should remove Mr Stanley from his position as chair of the PAC, Mr Martin said he would prefer to wait and see what Mr Stanley has to say.

“I would like to see what he has to say tomorrow and I'd like to give him that opportunity at the Public Accounts and give his comprehensive statement and apology,” the Taoiseach said.