Sinn Féin has nominated Mairéad Farrell to be the new chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
It comes after PAC chairman Brian Stanley resigned from the party amid a controversy relating to a complaint made against him.
Announcing the Galway West TD as the party’s PAC nominee, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described Ms Farrell as “meticulous, forensic and incredibly detail-focused”.
“She will bring a real energy, work ethic and unwavering belief in public money being used in the best interests of the people.”
However, it is unclear as to whether Sinn Féin will succeed in replacing Mr Stanley on the highly prestigious committee, as a number of politicians from other parties have indicated that they will not facilitate the change until Ms McDonald fully explains the ongoing controversies which have embroiled her party.
Ms McDonald said: “The Public Accounts Committee performs a very important function in its scrutiny of how public money is spent and holding the government and other bodies to account.
“It is particularly important when we have a government that is synonymous with serial waste and incompetence when it comes to the public purse.
“We’ve seen a catalogue of scandals around the waste of public money with the bicycle shed, the security hut, the phone pouches and of course the ongoing debacle of runaway costs and never-ending delays regarding the National Children’s Hospital.
“As the lead party of opposition, it is for Sinn Féin to nominate the Chairperson of the PAC,” she said.
The PAC will next sit on Thursday morning.
The chairs of committees are normally appointed through a system which is designed to proportionately reflect each party’s representation in the Dail chamber.
A row between Mr Stanley and the party deepened as he levelled the accusation that Ms McDonald had “abused Dáil privilege” when she addressed the house on Tuesday.
The Laois-Offaly TD accused the Sinn Fein leader of “a desperate attempt to shift the focus from her own party’s practices” on how it handled a complaint made against him.
At the weekend, Mr Stanley resigned from the party and said he would run as an independent after a Sinn Féin internal inquiry into a complaint against him.
The party referred that complaint and a “serious” counter-allegation to gardaí on Sunday.
Ms McDonald said the complainant against Mr Stanley was left “traumatised and distressed” by his actions.
However, Mr Stanley said that there was an attempt to damage his reputation and “shift the spotlight off” Sinn Féin.
“What was also revealing from her (Mary Lou McDonald’s) statement in the Dail, is the level of double standards that now operate and pertain in Sinn Féin,” he said.
