​Editorial: Stormont must be open with the public on salaries after McMonagle triple-jobbing revelations

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Revelations that the former Sinn Fein press officer – and now convicted sex offender – Michael McMonagle had more than one publicly-funded job raise important questions about how public funds are being spent by republicans.

The News Letter revealed last week that McMonagle was working for a SF MP at Westminster while also working in a “full time” role with Michelle O’Neill. That’s on top of another job working for the party.

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His Westminster declaration of interests made no mention of his job in SF or with the then-deputy first minister in her constituency office. SF say that was McMonagle’s responsibility not theirs, but there are questions the party has decided not to answer about responsibilities which were very much theirs – and the first minister’s.

Sinn Fein have declined to say whether Ms O’Neill declared McMonagle as an associated person when she employed him in 2020, given his role working for the party and the fact that he was a party member. Failure to declare that could result in the money paid for McMonagle’s job in Ms O’Neill’s office having to be paid back. Neither SF nor Stormont will tell the public if Ms O’Neill made that declaration.

Full and accurate declarations are something Stormont itself requires of the public – under threat of sanction – on things like benefits and pensions. They will expect politicians to have done the same.

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A probe is now under way by Stormont officials to see whether issues arising from McMonagle’s employment have any implications for the assembly commission’s processes and procedures.

The public will want both Sinn Fein and the Northern Ireland assembly to be fully transparent about who is employing Sinn Fein’s staff, how many are or were double or triple-jobbing – and that everything was fully declared.