Ex Sinn Féin Press Officer Convicted of Sex Offences and Public Money Misuse
A review reveals that a former Sinn Féin press officer misrepresented his employment, potentially misusing public funds
Derry, Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, Michael McMonagle, Public Money, Sex Offences
Derry: So, there’s been quite a scandal involving a former Sinn Féin press officer, Michael McMonagle. He got himself into serious trouble and was convicted of sex offences. A recent review has uncovered that he might have misrepresented his job details, which could have led to some public money being misused.
The review found that McMonagle was juggling two full-time jobs while also working as a press officer for a few months back in 2020. He was employed by Sinn Féin politicians, including Michelle O’Neill, who is now the First Minister. It’s a bit of a mess, to say the least.
Assembly Chief Executive Lesley Hogg has informed the police about this whole situation. She started the review after the scandal broke, wanting to get to the bottom of how McMonagle managed to hold multiple positions at once.
McMonagle, who lived on Limewood Street in Derry, was sentenced to prison last year for some pretty serious offences, including trying to get a child involved in sexual activity. The review showed he worked for Sinn Féin MP Orfhlaith Begley from early 2019 until May 2020.
He started working full-time for O’Neill in March 2020 and continued until the end of May. Interestingly, he also began part-time work as a press officer for Sinn Féin around the same time. Then, in June 2020, he took on another job with MLA Jemma Dolan, which lasted until July 2022.
In a letter to the MLAs, Hogg pointed out that McMonagle likely misrepresented his employment details during that three-month stretch. This misrepresentation could have led to a misuse of public funds, and she’s made sure the police are in the loop.
Hogg also advised the MLAs who employed him, as well as Sinn Féin, to think about what steps they should take next. The review was conducted by Jonathan McMillen, the Assembly’s legal services head, who concluded that McMonagle had three separate contracts during that short period.
He noted that it was practically impossible for McMonagle to handle all the work he was contracted for. This raises serious questions about how he managed to pull it off without anyone noticing sooner.
The review suggested that Sinn Féin should have been aware of McMonagle’s multiple contracts, especially since he was working around eighty hours a week. However, it seems O’Neill might not have known about all his other jobs while he was working for her.
One of the biggest issues highlighted was that McMonagle started full-time with O’Neill while still being employed by Begley. It’s a bit baffling that this wasn’t caught earlier, especially since he was also working part-time for the party.
For a few months, he was essentially drawing two full-time salaries from public funds, which is quite a situation. The review also mentioned that during this time, Covid restrictions were in place, affecting how everyone worked.
To prevent this from happening again, the review recommended that employees keep better records of their work hours and that MLAs should disclose any other jobs their employees might have that are paid with public money.
Sinead Ennis, Sinn Féin’s chief whip, welcomed the review’s findings, noting that it could help improve processes and ensure public money is used properly. The DUP is calling for a discussion about the review in the Assembly chamber.