FORMER Foyle MP Elisha McCallion was last night contemplating a life outside of politics after resigning from Sinn Féin for failing to promptly return £10,000 that was meant to help struggling businesses.
The Irish senator, who lost her Westminster seat last December, is one of three Sinn Féin members forced to quit over the scandal that saw £30,000 paid to her and the party's offices in Lurgan Co Armagh and West Tyrone.
The two unnamed party officials who resigned are, according Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, chair of Upper Bann comhairle ceantair and a party official in West Tyrone.
The payments were made up to eight months ago and despite the three recipients ineligibility for the Small Business Grants Scheme, the money was not returned until earlier this week when questions were asked by the BBC's Nolan Show.
Mrs McDonald described the failure to return the money as a "most serious situation".
"As party leader I wish to acknowledge and apologise for these failures," she said.
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She said the payments were not applied for and were sent automatically, with the money going to Ms McCallion’s account "in respect of her former Westminster office".
“These monies should have been returned immediately as no political offices qualified for this grant – the fact that this did not happen is unacceptable," she said.
“The party has established in each case where responsibility lay for the administration of the accounts in question and for the reimbursement of these monies."
All those involved were censured by the party's ard chomhairle which met on Wednesday night, she said.
Mrs McDonald said the official in West Tyrone had responsibility for the administration of the office account and failed to promptly return the money "despite being requested to do so by Maolíosa McHugh".
Ms McCallion, a niece of former Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson, said the money had been lodged into a joint account she shared with her husband.
"I fully accept that as a named signature on the account that I should have taken extra steps to verify this situation, before it was brought to my attention on Tuesday," she said.
Her resignation from the Seanad will be effective from next Thursday and having only been appointed in April she is ineligible for a resettlement payment from the Oireachtas.
The resignation of Ms McCallion will lead to a Seanad by-election.
SDLP finance spokesman Matthew O’Toole last night said Sinn Fein had further questions to answer about the payments.
He said Finance Minister Conor Murphy needed to clarify when his department was informed that his party colleagues were in receipt of the money.
"Did his department or his party colleagues then contact Senator McCallion and the two junior officials about the payments to request repayment, and if the money was repaid on Monday and Tuesday, why has it taken until Thursday for action to be taken?” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance said Mr Murphy did not see the list names of businesses who were paid under the scheme, which is administered by Land & Property Services, an arm of his department, on behalf of Department for the Economy.
