Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she does not believe Michelle O’Neill needs to stand aside as Deputy First Minister.
The DUP has called for O’Neill to step aside as Stormont Deputy First Minister over her attendance at senior IRA figure Bobby Storey’s funeral, which drew hundreds of people on to the streets.
First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster wrote to her partner in government this morning telling O’Neill to stand down pending a police and Assembly investigation into the scenes at Storey’s funeral.
Speaking outside Leinster House today, Mary Lou McDonald said nobody should be punished for attending the funeral of a friend. She said she attended the funeral of Bobby Storey to give a reading.
“One of the great marks of friendship and decency is how you say your goodbyes to people.”