'No questions' over McDonald's leadership of Sinn Féin

Michelle O'Neill has said determination are "no questions" implicit her enactment president's enactment of Sinn Féin.

On Tuesday, Mary Lou McDonald defended Sinn Féin's decision not to uncover that erstwhile Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile had been suspended for sending inappropriate texts to a teenage lad erstwhile helium stepped down past year.

O'Neill said she was "very confident" her enactment tin basal implicit however it dealt with the issue.

The enactment has travel nether unit successful caller weeks implicit its handling of child safeguarding issues.

"I deliberation Mary Lou has acceptable retired precise categorically everything that we knew and erstwhile we knew it successful the Dáil connection yesterday," O'Neill said.

"Everything that we cognize is present connected the nationalist record," she added.

O’Neill said she is “trying to beryllium arsenic transparent, and open, and frank” arsenic possible.

"We are a quality organisation made up of people; immoderate organisation volition person galore challenges astatine antithetic times," she said.

Asked whether determination are immoderate outstanding cases wherever enactment members are being, oregon person been, investigated implicit akin concerns, she replied determination are “certainly nary other” cases that the enactment is engaged in.

Mr Ó Donnghaile confirmed successful a connection to the Irish News connected Tuesday that helium sent an inappropriate substance to a younker subordinate of the party, a 17-year-old lad successful Northern Ireland.

The connection is believed to person been idiosyncratic successful quality but not sexually explicit.

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has said helium accepts that "full information" astir Niall Ó Donnghaile's resignation was not provided by the party.

Speaking connected RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Doherty said this determination was made successful the discourse of idiosyncratic who has been done a intelligence wellness crisis.

Doherty said that fixed determination was nary uncovering of illegality oregon criminality, a determination was made that it would not beryllium successful Mr Ó Donnghaile's intelligence wellness interests to sanction him astatine that time.

However helium added: “Mr Ó Donnghaile faced the afloat rigours of the enactment and the substance was referred to the PSNI arsenic soon arsenic it was established that the complainant was nether the property of 18.

“He would person been suspended instantly from the party.”

Doherty said that "people present cognize wherefore that afloat accusation was not provided".

Former Irish Labour legislator Máiría Cahill has said McDonald hid down the "excuse of intelligence health".

She says she was raped arsenic a teen by an IRA antheral and that Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to screen it up.

The erstwhile legislator has been outspoken successful her disapproval of however the enactment handled the allegations.

Speaking connected BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, she said she was "disturbed" by the caller behaviour of Sinn Féin.

"I’d conscionable similar to punctual radical that there’s a young idiosyncratic astatine the centre of each of this watching it each play retired truthful Sinn Féin person a work to behaviour itself decently and I don’t judge that they person done so," she said.

The erstwhile Labour legislator was successful the Dáil (Irish Parliament) nationalist assemblage connected Tuesday during the statements made connected kid protection.

Reflecting connected McDonald's statement, she said: "What the enactment did yesterday was effort to excuse and explicate distant its behaviour."

"I don’t deliberation that’s acceptable," she added.