Ó Donnghaile sent inappropriate texts to two people - SF

A Sinn Féin politician, who resigned from the Seanad and the party, had sent inappropriate text messages to two people - one of them a 17-year-old male - the Dáil has been told.

Party leader Mary Lou McDonald set out in detail the behaviour of former senator Niall Ó Donnghaile in a statement this afternoon.

She said what he had done had been "completely unacceptable".

Mr Ó Donnghaile confirmed he was the individual at the centre of the story and apologised. In a statement he said the PSNI had concluded that no offences had been committed.

The party received a complaint about the text messages on 11 September 2023.

Ms McDonald said the 17-year-old male, who was also a member of the party, "wanted this to stop and he wanted no further contact to be made to him by Niall Ó Donnghaile".

The following day the chairperson of Belfast Sinn Féin was informed of the complaint and the party began a formal procedure.

As part of the party's inquiry, it was informed of a second individual who had also been receiving "inappropriate text messages".

"This person was an adult," Ms McDonald told the Dáil.

"He was advised of his right to make a complaint but chose not to do so."

On 13 September, in line with the party's child protection guidelines and given that the complainant was under 18, Mr Ó Donnghaile was suspended from the party and the matter was referred to the PSNI and social services.

Two weeks later the PSNI told the party that there was to be no formal investigation, and the teenager was content with the sanctions taken by Sinn Féin.

"There was no finding of illegality and no criminal charges were pursued," Ms McDonald told the Dáil.

"However Niall Ó Donnghaile's actions were not acceptable. This view was made clear to Niall Ó Donnghaile at a meeting on October 5th involving the party chair, the chief whip and the chairperson of Belfast Sinn Féin.

"At that meeting Niall Ó Donnghaile stated that he would be resigning both from the Seanad and the party."

A statement confirming his resignation from the Seanad was issued by the party on 21 December 2023.

It made no reference to the disciplinary process and said he was stepping down on the advice of his doctor.

Today, Ms McDonald addressed the issue of why Sinn Féin had not informed the Oireachtas of the circumstances of his resignation.

She said that two years earlier, the 39-year-old senator had been struggling with serious mental health issues, which had caused him to take extended leave from the Seanad.

Following the complaint she said she was told that he was again suffering poor mental health.

"We were very worried that publicly naming him would be dangerous to his health and that is not to make an excuse for his behaviour, but we had very serious concerns for his mental health and his safety, and I still hold some of those concerns to this day."

Later Ms McDonald was asked why she had praised Mr Ó Donnghaile's contribution to public life when he announced he was stepping down, despite knowing the circumstances in which it was happening.

She said he had made an important contribution, but it was also true that his behaviour in texting the teenager had been unacceptable.

She said the sanction that had been applied to him had been appropriate and it had been a big deal to someone who's life had been framed by politics.

She confirmed that Sinn Féin had not informed the Belfast GAA club Laochra Loch Lao where Mr Ó Donnghaile held the position of honorary president.

She said it was for the police and social services to make risk assessments in such cases and manage any contact with other organisations and not something for a political party to undertake.

Laochra Loch Lao issued a statement saying that Mr Ó Donnghaile had stepped down from his role.

"This was an ambassadorial role which did not involve engagement with children or vulnerable groups.

"The club will be making no further comment," it said.

Mr Ó Donnghaile issued his own statement through a solicitor this afternoon before Dáil proceedings got under way.

In a statement released to the Irish News newspaper he confirmed that he was the party member involved in the texting.

Mr Ó Donnghaile said that in consultation with Sinn Féin, he accepted that his behaviour warranted stepping down from the Seanad and the party.

He said he deeply regretted any upset caused to the recipient of the messages and apologised to them.

"At the time I made myself available to the PSNI; at no stage was I spoken to by them or any other agency. The PSNI confirmed that no offences had occurred.

"I regret deeply the upset caused to the recipient of these messages and apologise sincerely for that. I also accept that I have caused great embarrassment to myself, my family, friends and former colleagues - this was never my intention.

"Since resigning from political and public life almost a year ago and now as a private citizen, my main focus has been on improving my mental health and also supporting a relative through a challenging period of ill-health - this remains my priority and I ask that I, and all those concerned, are allowed to move on, with our privacy respected.

"I will be making no further comment," added Mr Ó Donnghaile.

Sinn Féin Martin Kenny said that he believed "it was appropriate" for Ms Lou McDonald to detail Mr Ó Donnghaile's political contributions, in the statement she issued upon Mr Ó Donnghaile's resignation from the Seanad.

Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time, Mr Kenny said that Ms McDonald's statement "praised his work."

Mr Ó Donnghaile resigned from the Seanad in December, having been suspended from the party three months earlier amid allegations that he had sent inappropriate text messages to a 17-year-old.

Mr Kenny said that the inappropriate text messages sent by Mr Ó Donnghaile were "totally wrong."

"The reality with Sinn Féin, its drip, drip, drip, they only release this information when they really have to at the end of the day after huge pressure is put on the party," Fianna Fáil's Thomas Byrne said.

Speaking on the same programme, the Minister of State was also highly critical of the statement issued by Ms McDonald upon Mr Ó Donnghaile's resignation.

"In the statement that they issued at Christmas, which was really, really warm, which they didn't have to do, they definitely ignored any issue of a victim centred approach in this particular case," Mr Byrne said.

Mr Kenny rejected that saying that the victim wanted Mr Ó Donnghaile "to stop what he was doing" but he said that the party went further than that and referred the matter to the PSNI who found that "no legal barrier had been breached."