Brian Stanley (born January 1958) is an Irish independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2011 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois constituency. He was appointed Chair of the Public Accounts Committee in July 2020.[2][3]
He unsuccessfully contested the 2002 and 2007 general elections in Laois-Offaly.[4]
In July 2020, Stanley was appointed as the chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),[3] being the first Sinn Féin TD to hold the office.[6] Following his resignation from Sinn Féin in October 2024, he was replaced by Mairéad Farrell as chair of the PAC.[7]
Controversies
In December 2020, Stanley became embroiled in controversies over a number of tweets, originating with a tweet that referenced the Narrow Water Ambush by the IRA in 1979.[8][9] In response, Stanley offered apologies before deleting his Twitter account and asked for speaking time in Dáil Eireann to address the situation.[10] Another tweet made by Stanley about Leo Varadkar was criticised by Micheál Martin, saying the tweet had an "inference [sic] of homophobia."[11]
Resignation and investigation
On 12 October 2024, Stanley announced his resignation from Sinn Féin, saying he had been subject to an internal "kangaroo court" following a complaint within the party.[12] Sinn Féin later announced that they had referred the complaint to the Gardaí.[13]
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