First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Sinn Fein president at odds over age of teenager at heart of inappropriate message scandal

But in Belfast, the ​First Minister appeared at odds with her leader when she told the Assembly that the child was “in fact 17” according to the party’s membership records.

Michelle O’Neill's statement contradicts the child’s own testimony in the Sunday Independent newspaper at the weekend – where he said he was 16 at the time – and came just after her party leader Mary Lou McDonald said the record would be corrected in the Dail.

DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley highlighted calls for the Sinn Fein President to “correct the record” in the Irish parliament, after she claimed the teenager was 17.

The inappropriate message has been described as personal in nature but not sexually explicit.

The Upper Bann MLA asked the First Minister to tell the Assembly “what age was the schoolboy involved?”

Ms O’Neill said: “Can I just repeat again that all child protection protocols were followed, with an immediate referral to the PSNI and also to social services. The protection of the young person was absolutely our primary concern. Niall O Donnghaile was held accountable and faced serious consequences for his totally unacceptable and totally inappropriate behaviour.

“And I’m deeply sorry and angry that this young person has had to endure any of this inappropriateness or this unacceptable behaviour.

“Also, I can confirm that according to our records the young person was, in fact, 17. That’s the records which we have in our files in terms of membership”.

Ms O’Neill was asked when she was made aware of the reason for Mr O Donnghaile’s suspension from Sinn Fein.

She responded: “On the 13th September, in line with our child protection guidelines, and given that the complainant was under the age of 18, Niall O Donnghaile was suspended from the party and the issue was referred to the PSNI and the social services in the north to investigate. At this point, I was made aware.”

Former Irish senator Niall O Donnghaile, also a former lord mayor of Belfast, quit the Seanad (upper house of the Irish parliament) last year.

It comes as the Sinn Fein president is facing further pressure in Dublin to issue an apology to the teenager.

Ms McDonald said: “It is very important that the record of the Dail is accurate, so of course it will be corrected.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris has accused Ms McDonald of being “silent” on the calls from the young person at the centre of the matter to apologise to him for the handling of the incident.

The teenager told the Sunday Independent that he was 16 when he received what he described as “inappropriate messages” from Mr O Donnghaile last year.

Speaking at the launch of the Dublin City Taskforce report, Mr Harris said he wants to know what the Sinn Fein leader will do following the teenager’s statement to the newspaper.

“We have a situation where, in the last 24 hours, not Fine Gael, not Fianna Fail, not the Green Party, not any politician in Dail Eireann, a victim, a teenage boy, has described in a national newspaper how he was mentally stabbed, not by anybody other than the leader of Sinn Fein, by her actions,” Mr Harris said.

“He has called, not by only political opponent, he, the victim, a teenage boy, has called for the leader of the Opposition to directly and sincerely – his words – apologise to him.”

The Fine Gael leader also accused Ms McDonald of spending the last few days demanding an apology for the opening monologue on Friday’s Late Late Show.

Comedian and TV host Patrick Kielty linked the republican party to the hit show The Traitors in the opening minutes of the show last Friday.

Party TDs have been calling for an apology from RTE.

“Does the leader of Sinn Fein, who spent the entire weekend engaging in a pile-on (on the) media, in relation to an apology that she wanted for some satire that may or may not have been funny or not – I didn’t see it – in relation to the Late Late Show.

“They were out in force demanding an apology over satire. Silent in relation to an apology that a victim who received inappropriate texts from an adult elected representative of the Oireachtas had sought.

“So that’s for Sinn Fein to reflect on. I’d like to know today, does the leader of Sinn Fein intend to do as that victim asked? Because I thought, from listening to her in the past, from listening to all of us in the past, I thought we now adopt a victim-centred approach to these issues.”

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman described Ms McDonald’s judgment around the time of Mr O Donnghaile’s resignation as “flawed”.

Last week, Mr O Donnghaile acknowledged he quit Sinn Fein last year after the party received complaints that he had sent inappropriate texts to a teenage party member.

The party leader has been widely criticised for a statement she released following his resignation.

Mr O’Gorman said: “In terms of the focus on the statement that Deputy McDonald put out at the time that senator O Donnghaile resigned, I still feel her judgment was flawed there, in terms of the level of praise she heaped upon him in light of the reason that he was leaving Sinn Fein”.