Adams vows that he would‘ quit’ if there was bullying within Sinn Féin
THE Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has said he would “quit” the party if it had a culture of bullying. He insisted that there was “zero tolerance” towards bullying, following allegations by Sinn Féin members across several counties.
Mr Adams made the remarks during an interview when he was asked about Limerick councillor Lisa Marie Sheehy, who quit the party last month, alleging that there was a “hostile and toxic” environment in Sinn Féin.
He said he was “disappointed” with her remarks, which he added were “a very serious allegation to make about people you’re in a struggle with”.
Mr Adams told the ‘Limerick Leader’: “There is no culture of bullying in Sinn Féin. We have a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying. Our due process reflects best international practice legally.”
The Sinn Féin president was also asked about a meeting in Waterford last month, where between 30 and 40 disaffected party members gathered to share grievances over alleged bullying within the party.
“Let them put a case up and if there is a case to answer, we will answer it,” he said.
Sinn Féin has seen a number of resignations by party members amid claims of bullying.
The most high-profile was the case of former Cork East TD Sandra McLellan, who refused to go forward to convention before the last General Election.
She claimed to have been undermined by a small number of party members.
The Irish Independent yesterday reported how the former Omagh Sinn Féin member Sorcha McAnespy warned that further resignations were imminent unless bosses listened to the concerns.
Ms McAnespy, who has since joined Fianna Fáil, also complained of a “toxic” atmosphere in Sinn Féin, which she claimed had arisen after she had tried to strike alliances with unionists.
Separately, senior Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness didn’t rule out the prospect of his party working with Sinn Féin after the next general election.
His party leader, Micheál Martin, has rejected a future coalition between the parties on a number of occasions.
But Carlow-Kilkenny TD Mr McGuinness told KCLR Radio that Sinn Féin could well be involved in government-formation talks after the next election.
He said that while its policies “are not directly compatible” with Fianna Fáil, you don’t know what arrangement is going to come out of it. It’s the people that decide.”
Mr McGuinness said he would be open to discussing policies and government formation with “everyone that’s available in Leinster House”.
Put to him that his comments seem at odds with Mr Martin’s stance, Mr McGuinness said that the arrangement “need not necessarily be a coalition with anybody”.
He pointed to the current arrangements, whereby Fianna Fáil is facilitating the Fine Gael-led minority Government.