Sinn Féin moves to overhaul party structures after series of scandals
Sinn Féin
has moved to overhaul its governance structures after the party was rocked by a series of scandals last year.
In a message to the ard comhairle, Sinn Féin's governing body, party general secretary Sam Baker said the moves were initiated by party leader
Mary Lou McDonald
following separate incidents of 'inappropriate behaviour' by several now former elected representatives and staff.
A former party press officer, Michael McMonagle,
was last year jailed for child sexual offences
.
It also emerged that the former Sinn Féin leader in the Seanad, Niall Ó Donnghaile,
resigned after sending inappropriate texts to a 16-year-old
. The party did not disclose the reason for his resignation at the time.
READ MORE
Separately,
Brian Stanley
, the party's former Laois-Offaly TD, now an Independent deputy,
resigned after a draft report by the party reached a provisional conclusion
of gross misconduct against him, following a complaint by a woman of sexual harassment.
Mr Stanley denied any wrongdoing and disputed the events in question, insisting the complaint was politically motivated. He contested how the inquiry was conducted.
In his message, Mr Baker said a King's Counsel has been commissioned to undertake a comprehensive review of Sinn Féin's disciplinary procedures.
He said a full-time external human resource manager has been commissioned. An independent expert has also be appointed to undertake an audit and offer recommendations on how to improve the party's human resources handbook for employees.
A social work and safeguarding consultant has completed a draft of a Sinn Féin child protection policy and the party has appointed a national corporate governance director, he added.
'Now that we can report significant progress, it is now essential that the party nationally urgently adopts the new policies and processes which have been developed with the assistance of independent expert advice,' Mr Baker wrote.
Ms McDonald said: 'We are committed to ensuring the highest level of governance across Sinn Féin and that party management, staff and members are all aware of their responsibilities. Governance will be an ongoing part of our work and we will be reviewing all aspects of this annually.'
A spokesman for the party said a report earlier on Wednesday, which suggested the review had resulted in its former MP and European Parliament candidate Michelle Gildernew losing her position with the party, was incorrect.
The party said a 'number of totally unconnected processes within the party' had been 'mistakenly conflated'.
'A small number of staff who were on short-term temporary contracts finished their posts at different times over the last three months,' the spokesman said. 'One of them was Michelle Gildernew. I have no doubt that Michelle will continue to be at the heart of what we do, and I hope will be available for other posts.'
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
The Irish economy grew by 22% over the past year. Yes, you read that right
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Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Baltics are rapidly becoming a cauldron of EU growth when other parts of Europe are stagnating
It's not every day you find yourself in the Orthodox church where Alexander Pushkin 's great-grandfather was baptised. There is something calming about these dark, ornate and often windowless churches. The great-grandfather of Pushkin – the man whom many regard as the epitome of Slavic genius – was from central Africa (modern day Cameroon), a fact that adds to Pushkin's image as a romantic outsider. His great-grandfather, captured as a child by the Ottomans and gifted to the Russian emperor, rose to the position of general in Peter the Great's all-conquering army and was baptised in an Orthodox church in the centre of Vilnius, Lithuania 's very Catholic capital city. As befits a country at the crossroads of Europe, through which Napoleon, Charles X of Sweden, Hitler's Wehrmacht and, of course, Stalin's Red Army trampled, Vilnius is a city of ghosts. Before the second World War, it was known as the Jerusalem of the North, home to 60,000 Jews, of whom fewer than 2,000 survived. 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Yet Russia's presence is palpable, and with the invasion of Ukraine the sense of insecurity is heightened – as it is all throughout the three Baltic Republics of Lithuania and its two northern neighbours, Latvia and Estonia . READ MORE These three small maritime countries face the sea and have been connected with western Europe for centuries. In contrast, Russia is a land power. The Hanseatic influence, tied to Lubeck, Hamburg, London and Amsterdam by the Baltic and North Seas, give the Baltic Republics their Scandinavian feel, not to mention their Catholic and Protestant religion, which distinguishes them from the Orthodox Russians. Economically, these three countries are by far the most successful of post-Soviet Republics, anchoring themselves politically, commercially and militarily to the West, via the EU and Nato . I've yet to meet a person here who doesn't see Nato as a positive. 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As of 2023, ICT contributes around 6 per cent of Estonia's GDP, up from 3 per cent in 2012, and about 7 per cent of its workforce are ICT professionals, the highest share in the EU. Latvia and Lithuania follow close behind and well above the EU average. Around half of all private R&D in Estonia and Latvia is tech-related. As a percentage of European population, the Baltics should have about 1 per cent of EU tech unicorn start-ups; instead they have 12 per cent. Meanwhile, Lithuania leads the EU in the number of fintech licences issued and has thriving tech parks in Vilnius and Kaunas. Lithuania's ICT sector grew 50 per cent in employment over the past decade. They are not only deploying tech to create new companies, the way the government does business here is quite seamless because of mass digitalisation. 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Opens in new window ] Ireland has become home to a significant Baltic diaspora since the early 2000s, with people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now making up roughly 1 per cent of the population (based on the 2022 census and a population of 5.15 million). These neighbours are not from some backward former Soviet region, but from one of the most dynamic parts of modern Europe, the Baltic Sea, home to Poland, Europe's most vibrant large economy, Finland and of course Sweden, as well as the industrial north of Germany. Ireland should learn to use the skills, networks and languages of our new residents to cement relations with this part of the world because this is rapidly becoming a cauldron of EU growth at a time when other parts of Europe are stagnating.
