Stanley set to be removed from Public Accounts Committee

Brian Stanley is set to be removed from his role as Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee following his resignation from Sinn Féin at the weekend.

It is expected that Sinn Féin will today move to replace Mr Stanley in the high-profile role.

Mr Stanley departed Sinn Féin saying he had been subjected to a flawed inquiry process that resembled a kangaroo court.

This was strongly rejected by party leader Mary Lou McDonald who insisted his rights were protected throughout the process adding that he had a barrister and solicitor present at a disciplinary panel meeting.

It stemmed from a complaint made against Mr Stanley last July by a longstanding party member.

There followed a counter allegation, and the internal party process has now been suspended with the matter passed to the Gardaí.

In a statement, Ms McDonald said Sinn Féin "will not ignore or hide away from difficult issues when they arise".

She said: "These are not outcomes that anyone likes to see but let me be clear we have robust procedures for dealing with these issues and they will be followed at all times and apply equally to all members of the party."

However, Public Accounts Committee member James O'Connor has called on Sinn Féin to explain why it did not pass the complaint to Gardaí in July.

Mr Stanley's departure from Sinn Féin comes just days after Kildare-South TD Patricia Ryan resigned from the party.

Ms Ryan said she has been unhappy for around 18 months and has been asking Sinn Féin to deal with issues, but said they were left to "fester".

She said she had issues about being curtailed in what she would put up on Facebook, and with members being asked about questions for the leader in advance of meetings.