Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would first like to address information which I placed on the Dáil record last week relating to an incident where a Sinn Féin representative sent inappropriate text messages to a young person. It was then my understanding that the young person was 17 years of age because of the information provided on his application form when he applied to join Ógra Shinn Féin. That information was wrong. The young person himself has made clear that he was, in fact, 16 at the time so I want to correct the Dáil record to reflect that he was in fact 16 years of age when these texts were sent.

I have now written to the young person and his mother offering a full, unequivocal and sincere apology. What happened to this young person was wrong. Niall Ó Donnghaile's behaviour was unacceptable and utterly inappropriate and no young person should have experienced that. I am also very sorry for the hurt that my words caused in the statement that I issued following his resignation. That was never, ever my intention and I apologise to that young person for issuing that statement. Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.

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