Michelle O’Neill has again been urged to make herself available for scrutiny by a Stormont committee over the Michael McMonagle controversy.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader has yet to clearly signal that she’s willing to face questions from MLAs, who briefly quizzed the first minister last week about the safeguarding failings that saw the party’s former press officer secure a job with a charity while he was being investigated by police for sexual offences.
Executive Office committee chair Paula Bradshaw, who faced criticism for limiting the number of questions the first minister faced on the matter, will ask members on Wednesday whether they wish to invite Ms O’Neill to face further scrutiny on the matter.
“I have asked the committee clerk to look into the technicalities of inviting the first minister alone to appear before the committee, given she occupies a joint office,” the Alliance MLA told The Irish News.
Committee member Brian Kingston said Ms O’Neill provided “some answers” in the assembly on Monday..
“However, even despite the promise of openness, she avoided others and failed to respond to those posed by the media after she was brought before the assembly,” the DUP MLA said.
“The first minister has committed to coming before the Executive Office committee again, so it will be important to see whether she will take up that invitation quickly.”
Fellow committee member Sinéad McLaughlin said it would be “unacceptable” for the Sinn Féin deputy leader not to appear again to “correct the record”.
“This is a serious matter and the first minister has a duty to return to committee and set the record straight,” she said.
“To refuse would show a total lack of transparency or integrity and further harm confidence in these institutions.”
On Monday, Ms O’Neill asked that the record of last Wednesday’s committee meeting be “corrected” after footage emerged of her talking to British Heart Foundation chief executive Fearghal McKinney in Stormont’s Great Hall last February.
The first minister told committee members that she had no contact with anyone from the charity, even though photographs showed her a matter of yards away from Michael McMonagle.
Ulster Unionist deputy leader Robbie Butler said the last week’s appearance by Ms O’Neill at the committee “created more questions than were answered”.
“There are a number of other queries, not least around her and her party’s employment practices that also need to be urgently addressed, it is clear that Sinn Féin have made this issue much worse by not being open or transparent,” he said.
A Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “Michelle O’Neill made herself available yesterday {Monday} and took questions from MLAs on the floor of the assembly during which she was clear she would engage with the chair of the Executive Office committee.”
