Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to announce new front bench, with changes expected

Party sources have said Ms McDonald has 'big decisions to make' about how the party's front bench looks over the coming years. Picture: Sam Boal / Collins Photos

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald will announce her party's front bench on Tuesday, with a number of changes of roles expected.

Party sources have said Ms McDonald has "big decisions to make" about how the party's front bench looks over the coming years. 

Ms McDonald previously indicated she would carry out an extensive reshuffle of her front bench team and has not ruled out moving finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty or housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin.

However, a number of party sources have said they believe the duo, along with Health spokesperson David Cullinane, will likely be retained. Overall, sources said the reshuffle would likely see more changes to roles than personnel, though Ms McDonald has been tipped to elevate one of her 10 new TDs to the front bench, with Kildare South's Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh considered a potential name.

It is understood party spokespeople have met with Ms McDonald in the last 10 days to discuss their portfolios during the last Dáil. However, none was given any indication about where they will land on Tuesday. A source said Ms McDonald was "keeping her cards close to her chest".

Louise O'Reilly is likely to again be on the front bench. Picture: Damien Storan

However, sources pointed out that with over a quarter of the party's TDs first-time TDs and none of its front bench having not be re-elected, the scope for wholesale change may not be there for the Sinn Féin leader. 

Among those who are considered to be safe within the front bench are Louise O'Reilly, Matt Carthy, Darren O'Rourke, Mairead Farrell, Claire Kerrane and Rose Conway Walsh. This, sources said, means only a few names may miss out and the scope of the reshuffle is likely to be across which roles are filled.

Some have suggested the front bench will again feature split portfolios and the party may appoint a spokesperson on migration and home affairs to mirror the Department of Justice's new arm.

The party gained two seats in November's election, but given the larger Dáil, was not considered any closer to government than it had been when the election was called. However, following weeks of bruising scandal and scrutiny, many in the party considered the overall election a good result, particularly given the lost momentum in June's local elections.

Sources within the party said it was "focused" and "optimistic" about the next five years, but there was an acceptance another term in opposition would be "difficult". 

It is understood there is no real threat to Ms McDonald's leadership for now and she has expressed a desire to lead the party into the next election. That optimism was helped by the the first Business Post/Red C poll of the new year published over the weekend, which saw Sinn Féin up three points.

The poll saw a random sample of 1,003 adults, aged 18 and over, interviewed online between Friday, 17 January, and Wednesday, 22 January.

In a recent interview with the Irish Examiner , Ms McDonald said the focus on her party — from the Michael McMonagle controversy which saw two party workers resign after giving a character reference to a former colleague accused of child sex crimes, to the departure of Laois-based TD Brian Stanley — was "testing".

"We went into a general election where lots of people had written us off. I mean, there were predictions that we were going to lose lots of the seats, and we didn't. We regrouped, we gathered. I think we ran a very effective campaign."