Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald has said that her party “stands behind” the Special Criminal Court as Fine Gael TDs attempted to quiz her about her relationship with Jonathan Dowdall.
Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor and a convicted criminal, acted as a State witness in the trial of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch. Hutch was acquitted of the murder of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel in February 2016 earlier this week.
Dowdall was a councillor in Ms McDonald’s Dublin Central Constituency between 2014 and 2015.
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He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2017 for waterboarding a man.
Several Fine Gael TDs, including Alan Farrell, Fergus O’Dowd and Colm Brophy, all attempted to quiz Ms McDonald about her relationship with Dowdall in the Dáil on Thursday.
This included whether or not Ms McDonald took any actions to persuade Dowdall to remain as a party councillor when he attempted to leave the party in 2014.
Ms McDonald said: “For the avoidance of doubt, let me say again that Jonathan Dowdall had no business in Sinn Féin. He shouldn’t have been in our party.
“He joined in June 2013. He left in February 2015. It was in March 2016 that his criminal activity was discovered.
“He was a north inner city kid who had worked really hard and who had done really well.
“We now know that this was not the real Jonathan Dowdall, a man who would go on to commit heinous crime
“He and he alone is responsible for his actions. He has been convicted before the courts.
“If I had known for a second what he would be capable of, what he would go on to do, he wouldn’t have been near me.
“He wouldn’t have been near Sinn Fein and he certainly would not have been running for public office. I would not tolerate that.”
Deputy Brophy was told that the Dáil was “not having a questions and answers session” by the Ceann Comhairle as he argued that Ms McDonald did not answer “direct questions in terms of party figures and her own knowledge” about Dowdall.
He also questioned if Ms McDonald “called to his home” and persuaded him to reverse his decision to leave Sinn Féin.
Elsewhere, Ms McDonald stated that her party “stands behind” the Special Criminal Court. Sinn Féin has traditionally abstained or walked out of yearly votes for legislation underpinning the non-jury court.
"Sinn Féin stands 100% with law-abiding citizens, with the members of An Garda Síochána, with the court system.
“All of it, including the Special Criminal Court, against the threat of organised crime.”
The party’s justice spokesperson Pa Daly also told the Dáil that it hopes the Special Criminal Court legislation can be modernised.
He stated that if it is, the party “expects” it will support it.
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