Questions for Sinn Féin as they come out of hiding – Carroll MacNeill

Sinn Féin must answer serious questions about the party’s links to a criminal convicted for facilitating one of the most high profile gangland murders in this country, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said, “My constituents are hugely concerned at Sinn Féin budgetary policies. It is unbelievable Sinn Féin are still pursuing the failed policies of Liz Truss and the Tory party in the UK – populist, reckless policies such as a blank cheque price gap guarantee for energy companies show Sinn Féin not only can’t get it right the first time – but can’t even follow where others admit their economic folly.”

“Sinn Féin persists with populism no matter what and it could lead to the financial and economic destruction of this country.

“But what else can Sinn Féin admit they got wrong? My constituents express ongoing concern about Sinn Féin not being a normal political party.

“Here we have a direct contemporary example of that. It is rife throughout the media and Sinn Féin need to come out and join the dots for everyone once and for all. Some questions that need answers include:

1. Returned Criminal Donations? Fine Gael’s questions about Sinn Féin financing and use of money across two jursidictions are well documented but here is a very simple question:  Has Sinn Féin returned any donations or contributions made by the criminal Dowdall? Who was it returned to? What other donations did Jonathan Dowdall make to SF election campaigns as previously reported and were they returned?[1]
2. Background Checks? Every party needs to check backgrounds, and in fairness it can be difficult to spot problems but a link to a criminal gang of this significance is a big one to miss. What due diligence did SF do to check the background of Jonathan Dowdall before selecting him to run for the party in the North Inner City at the 2014 local elections? When was Mary Lou McDonald first made aware of Mr Dowdall’s connection? When was Sinn Féin in Dublin Central first made aware of Mr Dowdall’s connection to the Hutch criminal organisation?  [2]
3. Campaign of Rehabilitation? Dowdall only resigned from the council in Feb 2015 when still a SF member. The then SF group leader said he hoped “Jonathan will remain involved with SF in the North Inner City.” What did this entail?
4. When did Jonathan Dowdall’s membership of Sinn Féin come to an end and will Sinn Féin, finally, support the Special Criminal Court which has been central to securing convictions in gangland and terrorist crime?[4]
5. And when are Sinn Féin going to engage in normal politics instead of suing or threatening to sue broadcasters and politicians all over Ireland?

“Voters need to know what they’re dealing with.

“Populist dodgy economics is one thing, but clear links between one of their former councillors with one of Ireland’s most destructive and dangerous criminal gangs is a straight up farce for a political party and the Sinn Féin TDs and Senators need to answer for their party,” Deputy Carroll MacNeill said.

 Footnotes:

[1] https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/the-charms-of-jonathan-dowdall-ex-sinn-fein-councillor-with-no-politics-and-links-to-gangland-42031400.html

[2] What the Monk and Mary Lou McDonald have in common – Independent.ie

[3] https://www.thejournal.ie/sinn-fein-jonathan-dowdall-resigns-1937189-Feb2015/?utm_source=shortlink https://www.thejournal.ie/jonathan-dowdall-steps-down-sinn-fein-1685269-Sep2014/

[4] https://www.thejournal.ie/jonathan-dowdall-sinn-fein-councillor-1728815-Oct2014/