Stanley tweets 'colossal error', says fellow SF TD
Sinn Féin TD and Public Accounts Committee chairman Brian Stanley is "guilty of colossal errors of judgment" for posting two controversial tweets, a party colleague has said.
Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said the tweets have caused "a lot of hurt", but he rejected claims Mr Stanley is not fit to chair the committee.
He described Mr Stanley as a "fine politician and a good public representative".
Mr Stanley, who is taking this week off to spend time with his family at the request of party leader Mary Lou McDonald, is to make a statement to the Dáil about the social media posts.
He had been facing mounting calls to appear before fellow TDs following a series of controversies.
On Wednesday, he publicly apologised for a tweet sent last weekend, which appeared to glorify historical killings of British soldiers by the IRA.
However, he said he has "no apology to make" over a 2017 tweet he sent that appeared to comment on the sexuality of Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar.
The Laois-Offaly TD has now deleted his Twitter account.