Northern Ireland

ANALYSIS: Sinn Féin has shown it can act decisively

Elisha McCallion pictured with Michelle O'Neill at the 2017 general election count for Foyle. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Elisha McCallion pictured with Michelle O'Neill at the 2017 general election count for Foyle. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Elisha McCallion pictured with Michelle O'Neill at the 2017 general election count for Foyle. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

YESTERDAY morning's headlines and commentary focused on the need for Sinn Féin to answer the outstanding questions around the three £10,000 payments made to party offices and at least one of its representatives. There was an expectation that the party would double down by fudging or obfuscating the issue.

This time the response was different with fast, decisive action from party leader Mary Lou McDonald. It's now apparent that the 24-hour delay in making a clear statement about the Small Business Grant Scheme payments was to enable the party to establish what exactly happened.

It would appear its investigations found that those responsible for sitting on the money acted unilaterally rather than with the authority of the leadership.

Deputy leader Michelle O'Neill was also unambiguous, saying what happened was "wrong".

It's perhaps a moot point why those found not to have returned the money were allowed to resign rather than being summarily sacked but the outcome is essentially the same.

The move has echoes of the manner in which Daithí McKay resigned in 2016, though on that occasion the party lost one of its most promising elected representatives.

In contrast, it can be argued former Foyle MP Elisha McCallion's political career was on the wane, though now it's a safe bet that she'll never run for office in future on a Sinn Féin ticket.

But the mist hasn't entirely cleared. Inevitably, the manner in which Sinn Féin controls its representatives' finances centrally means the picture of what exactly occurred and how still remains clouded and confusing. What has been established though is that West Tyrone MLA Maolíosa McHugh was at worst a innocent bystander in this scandal.

Yet before a picture is painted of Sinn Féin as the party that takes no nonsense and deals with misconduct decisively, it's worth contrasting yesterday's events with the semantic gymnastics that have been employed in relation to the breaching of Covid-19 restrictions at Bobby Storey's funeral and the failure to address with any firmness Martina Anderson's social media comments on Troubles' victims.

Decisiveness in addressing bad behaviour is welcome but so too is consistency.