Taoiseach Says Stanley’s Tweets Damage Public Accounts Committee Credibility

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the credibility of the Public Accounts Committee has been called into question by the social media activity of its chairman, Brian Stanley of Sinn Féin.

Less than 24 hours after apologizing for a tweet praising the IRA’s attacks on British soldiers, Stanley found himself defending himself Thursday against alleged homophobia in a tweet posted the day Leo Varadkar became the first openly gay political leader. from Ireland in 2017.

Mr. Martin said TD Laois-Offaly needs to reflect on the impact on the PAC in terms of the issues that have arisen after his two controversial tweets.

Martin said the tweet about Varadkar had an inference of homophobia in his opinion and exacerbated the situation at Sinn Féin TD. He also said that his opinion was that Stanley’s apology for the tweet referring to the IRA atrocities was not complete enough.

“It is part of a larger Sinn Féin agenda to justify the narrative of the past 40 years,” he said. “It’s a problem for me and a problem for the younger generations, to inform them that it was appalling.”

In a strident criticism of the IRA campaign, Martin described the Narrow Water bombings, in which 18 British paratroopers were killed, and the bombs that killed Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others, as “crimes against humanity” and “crimes against humanity. war”.

“In my opinion, I don’t think his apology (from Stanley) was complete nor did it refer to the glorification of the military events he spoke of, or the deaths of so many people,” he said. “There are loved ones of those who died who are still alive. That (tweet) was very upsetting to them. “

Earlier, Fine Gael ministers increased the pressure on Stanley by hinting that deleting his Twitter and Facebook accounts could suggest he has something to hide.

The suggestion came when Stanley’s party colleague Louise O’Reilly said that the tone of the 2017 tweet was not acceptable, but that an incorrect inference was made and the accusation that it had homophobic content. The tweet should be taken in the context of “the whole world” discussing the fact that Ireland had its first openly gay leader, he said.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Justice Minister Helen McEntee renewed their criticism of Laois-Offaly’s TD on Friday for a series of insensitive posts on their Twitter account.

Less than 24 hours after apologizing for a tweet praising the IRA ambushes at Narrow Water in 1979 and at Kilmichael during the Revolutionary War, Stanley found himself defending himself against alleged homophobia.

Stanley rejected any suggestion of a homophobic background in a tweet that read: “Yippee 4 from tory. it’s Leo. You can do whatever you want in bed, but you don’t look like a raise the next morning. “

He said Thursday that his LGBT rights campaigning record “speaks for itself” and that he participated in all campaigns for gay rights. “I don’t have to apologize to anyone,” he insisted.

However, later on Thursday night, both his Twitter and Facebook accounts were deleted.

Donohoe asked on Friday why it was necessary to remove social media accounts and was asked if there were any more posts that could be problematic for Laois-Offaly’s TD.

He asked Mr. Stanley to clarify if there were any other comments about the account that was deleted and to explain why it was necessary to delete it.

In a sign of an escalation of the matter by Fine Gael, Mr. Donohoe said that the apologies and deletions were no longer sufficient and clarity was needed.

“It is not enough what Brian Stanley said, and his tweet several years ago in which he linked someone’s sexuality to the work they do is absolutely unacceptable,” Donohoe told RTÉ Radio.

Also, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said on Friday that Mr. Stanley should appear before the Dáil to explain the matter.

Speaking on LMFM radio, he said: “My own opinion is that he referred in a very negative and completely inappropriate way to the sexuality of my own party leader. And I think he needs to clarify why he tweeted it and what he was referring to exactly and I think that’s not just a political issue. I think LGBT groups would share the same opinion. “

Sinn Féin reaction

Sinn Féin defended Stanley in connection with his tweet about Varadkar, backing up his defense that there was no homophobic innuendo or intention behind it.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Ms O’Reilly, a health spokesperson for Sinn Féin and Fingal TD, said the tone of Stanley’s tweet in 2017 referring to Varadkar was “not acceptable.”

“If any offense was caused, of course Brian should be involved and he should have those discussions with people,” he said.

As a party colleague, he knew that Stanley was an ally of the LGBT community and a “very, very staunch activist, not just for LGBT rights but also for human rights.”

It was important to understand the tweet in context, he said. “At that point in 2017, not just here in Ireland, but everyone was talking about the fact that we had elected an openly gay head of government.

“It’s something we should be proud of, and Brian Stanley’s comments are in that context.”

However, Ms O’Reilly said the tweet had been left open to misinterpretation. Twitter was not the platform for everyone, “not everyone is ready to participate in Twitter.”

He said Stanley was no longer on the platform “like I said, it’s not for everyone.”

However, the tweets provoked negative reactions and criticism within the party. Seán Pender de Kildare, who is an LGBT officer and member of Ógra Sinn Féin at UCD, announced that he was resigning due to the recent controversy surrounding Stanley.

“This is not something I wanted to do, but after thinking about it for the past few days, I felt it was the best decision,” he wrote on Twitter.

Former Sinn Féin councilor Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and LGBT official Chris Curran said Stanley’s tweet about Varadkar was “ridiculous and insensitive.”

Curran, who left politics in 2019, added that the opinions “did not really represent the Sinn Féin that I know. Something like this prevents the party from doing what it wants to do, ”he said.

Fianna Fáil has been more circumspect in her criticisms. State or Higher Education Minister Niall Collins said the tweets were “incredibly stupid” and criticized Stanley for portraying himself as a victim.

Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ, Mr. Collins said, however, that he was not asking Mr. Stanley to resign, as that was his business. He added that there was a broader problem of Sinn Féin activists and their use of social media. Collins said that during the debate over mother and baby houses he had been “grossly abused” on social media by “guys from Sinn Féin.”

When asked about this, he said the abusive tweets had been from Sinn Féin supporters, not necessarily members. It was not acceptable for some people to say one thing in person or in public, but something else on their social media account, he added.

Leadership needed to be demonstrated, it was an ongoing challenge. The issue must be addressed at all levels, he urged.