Sinn Féin does not fund defamation cases taken by members and has “no policy” on instigating legal actions that its representatives take, the party’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin has said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has alleged in recent days that Sinn Féin members take libel cases in an attempt to have a “chilling effect on public debate and democracy”.
His comments follow controversy over RTÉ's decision not to run an interview with former minister Shane Ross, who authored a book on the Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, who is suing RTÉ in a defamation case.
Mr Ó Broin told reporters on Tuesday that the party has “no policy” on defamation actions and that he has never sent a letter threatening legal action.
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“The party does not fund and does not get involved in decisions about whether individual members of the party decide to defend their good names in court,” said the Dublin Mid-West TD.
The Taoiseach corrected the Dáil record regarding remarks he made last week about RTÉ's decision not to broadcast an interview with Mr Ross about the biography. He had suggested that “apparently a political party got access to the interview” with the former minister before it was broadcast.
The Taoiseach told the House that extracts from the biography rather than the interview itself were offered to Sinn Féin and that he was “happy to clarify that and correct the record”.
Mr Ó Broin accused Mr Martin of hypocrisy, noting a legal letter sent by Fianna Fáil Longford-Westmeath TD Robert Troy to news outlet the Ditch which was reporting on his property holdings and regulatory filings.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar on Monday claimed he was aware of Fine Gael politicians who had received legal letters from Sinn Féin and suggested that the party’s use of these “seems almost strategic”.
“If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael don’t want their members to be subject to legal actions by members of our party or anybody else, then stop telling lies about us and stop libelling us. It’s as simple as that,” said Mr Ó Broin. He added that it was “absolutely” and “unequivocally” the case that Ms McDonald would fund her own libel action.
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He also said that Ms McDonald bought her home with a mortgage after Mr Ross raised questions over the funding of the purchase and the renovation of the home in his book. “Most people, including Mary Lou, buy their houses with mortgages. Mary Lou has answered that question, as has David Cullinane, and I’m happy to answer it now. She bought her house with a mortgage.”
He said that Sinn Féin also supported reform of the libel laws. “I fundamentally believe people have the right to defend their good name, I also accept our libel laws are outdated and antiquated,” he said.
Asked about Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor who was jailed on Monday over his role in the Regency Hotel attack, Mr Ó Broin said that the party did not know at the time about his criminal connections. He said Dowdall “never would have been in the party and would never have been a candidate” had it known.
“It’s a lesson for all political parties that when you’re selecting people for elected office, you have to do your due diligence but like I say, we did not know those things about Jonathan at that time and had we known, he wouldn’t have been in the party.”
Asked about a recent controversy over the singing of the Wolfe Tones’ Celtic Symphony song — which includes the line ‘ooh, ah, up the ‘Ra’ by the Irish women’s soccer team, he said: “It’s not a song I would sing, it’s not a song I would encourage people to sing, and I certainly think at public events and with public and political representatives it’s something we shouldn’t do.”
