Brian Taoiseach: Credibility Tweets Pac's Stanley's Damaged

Taoiseach: Brian Stanley's tweets damaged PAC's credibility — Tweets The He Sinn Under Over Two Controversial Féin Sent Been Collins But Scrutiny Gareth Public Oireachtas Chaney Mittee Picture: Td Accounts Chairs Has

Fri, 04 Dec, 2020 - 19:50

Aoife Moore and Paul Hosford

The credibility of the Dáil's most powerful committee is in question over its chair's tweets, the Taoiseach said.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley chairs the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee but has been under scrutiny over two tweets he sent, firstly equating the 1920 Kilmichael ambush and the 1979 Warrenpoint ambush, and then one taken as being homophobic towards Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr Stanley has also been questioned over a radio interview he gave in March where he suggested it was possible to catch Covid-19 from chicken imported from China.

Speaking on Friday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he wasn't "entirely satisfied" with Mr Stanley's apology to the committee on Wednesday. He said Mr Stanley should "reflect" on the damage to the credibility of the committee that Mr Martin said his actions had caused.

"The credibility of the committee is in question, I think.

I think he needs to reflect on that in terms of the issues that have arisen and I think the manner in which he has dealt with them. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the nature of the apology that was made.

Mr Martin said Sinn Féin had attempted as a party to create the impression of "an unbroken chain" between the War of Independence and The Troubles.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanely deletes Twitter account

"It's part of a wider agenda by Sinn Féin to essentially justify the narrative of the last 20-odd years. That's a problem for me.

I think it's a problem in terms of making sure that younger generations, growing up in this country, are not hoodwinked or not misled into thinking that all of these deeds over the last 30 years were glorious ones, they were far from it.

"That is the underlying agenda with Sinn Féin when they tweet in the manner which deputy Stanley tweeted, and when they make various statements, around the past.

"It is all designed to create this idea of an unbroken chain between the War of Independence period and the more modern period. And it's also designed to create a narrative that it was somehow a just war. It wasn't a just war. There were some terrible sordid deeds perpetrated by the Provisional IRA which cannot be justified in any shape or form and I just think they need to get that sorted.

"They need to address that issue in a more comprehensive way than they have to date."

Mr Stanley has asked the Ceann Comhairle for time to address the Dáil on Tuesday, December 15, on the matter. He will spend next week at home with his family.

Sinn Féin's Brian Stanley to address Dáil over controversial tweets on December 15