Deputy Stanley resigned in protest at how the allegation was handled and has counter-alleged that the woman who made the complaint against him made then demanded a sum of €60,000 from him in order not to pursue the matter.
When it was put to him that there was an allegation of sexual harassment that Sinn Fein deemed to be true, and a preliminary finding of gross misconduct on his part, Deputy Stanley said Sinn Féin are “not judge and jury, and they are certainly not executioner”.
Asked how he thought Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald handled the matter, Deputy Stanley said: “Appallingly”, and confirmed she has not been in touch with him.
“There’s no investigation into me and my focus now is on the election and representing the people of Laois,” he said at a sod-turning ceremony for a new regional Garda HQ in Portlaoise.
“I was in two minds whether to run or not, but over the past few weeks being out around the constituency I’m meeting constituents and former members of Sinn Féin who are saying to me that I should run. They thought that I was a very effective local TD, and it’s obviously nice to hear that because sometimes you wonder whether you’re doing the right thing or not,” he said.
“As chair of the Public Accounts Committee they felt I was doing a good job and that I should continue at it. My family have encouraged me as well and were pushing me to go again, so for better or for worse I’ve thrown my hat into the ring. It’ll be an uphill battle, I understand that, but I’ll give it my best shot and we’ll see how it works out,” he added.
Asked if it was a difficult decision walking away from Sinn Fein, Mr Stanley said he was “not one to look in the rear-view mirror”.
“I think you should always look forward. I’m a republican and centre-left in my beliefs. There’s a number of progressive Independents in the Dáil and if I’m lucky enough to be re-elected to the Dáil I will try and work with those Independents. If political parties put forward good ideas, whether it’s from the Government or Opposition benches, I’m known to be very pragmatic and I will support those. But I think there’s good Independents in the Dáil and I think the next time around there’ll be a few more Independents and people who maybe would have a similar political outlook as myself. I will work with them and do the best we can for the country and the constituents here in Co Laois,” Mr Stanley said.
Asked if he thinks he can win the seat, Mr Stanley said people are stopping him in the street and giving him support and that some have said they will be voting for him for the first time, while others who voted for him as a Sinn Féin candidate said they would still be backing him.
Asked how the past few weeks have been for him personally, Mr Stanley said he’s been around a while, and he’s had to deal with many battles.
“It wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve had to deal with difficult situations. When you’re in public life, and particularly when you’re elected to the Dáil, you are going to come across situations where you have to face (a situation) and work your way through it, and I’d be fairly resilient and I’ve a good family around me and good supporters around me, and that helps.”
Speaking about the Sinn Féin investigation into the controversy, which he has said was flawed, Deputy Stanley said: “I entered into a confidential process. That’s what I was told by Sinn Féin. Not everybody obviously kept it confidential, and Sinn Féin certainly didn’t, but I did.
“I was bound by that and the party didn’t do it. But what I’ll say is that I’ve spoken to An Garda Síochána because I brought serious matters to the attention of a so-called inquiry, and that’s where the matter rests.”
He would not confirm if he had made a complaint to gardaí but said he had “very good legal advice which has guided me up to now”.
