SINN FÉIN’S JUSTICE spokesperson Matt Carthy has doubled down on his call for an “oversight mechanism” for advertisements from non-governmental organisations in receipt of taxpayer funding. 

Carthy initially made the remark in a now-deleted social media post last week in which he was responding to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s (DRCC) decision to pull a social media ad promoting consent.

The ad was pulled following online backlash over its depiction of grandparents and came after Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan instructed his officials to engage with the DRCC. 

In the now-deleted post on Facebook, Carthy wrote: 

“The ‘consent’ advertisement targeting grandparents was clearly ill-conceived and should never have been approved. There must be a full review of how advertising campaigns that are fully or partly funded by taxpayers are authorised to ensure that this type of debacle never happens again. 

“Consent is an extremely important issue, and it would be regrettable if this controversy undermined the broader and necessary conversation about consent as a core element of sex education. 

“Withdrawing the advertisement was the correct decision but important lessons must be learned.” 

Asked today why he removed the post and whether it was still his position that there should be a “review” of advertisements from organisations like the DRCC, which receives State funding, Carthy said yes, it was still his position. 

He said he took down the post “fairly quickly” because of the “pile on” on the DRCC. 

SF’s Matt Carthy says he deleted his social media post about the DRCC consent ad because of the pile on the Rape Crisis Centre was getting. However, he still believes there should be a “review” of ads from organisations in receipt of taxpayer money.

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— Jane Matthews (@janematthews1.bsky.social) October 28, 2026 at 1:05 PM

Carthy said there was a “natural annoyance and frustration” with the ad, which people felt “completely missed what is a very important point in respect of consent”. 

Asked what such a review would look like, Carthy said: 

“Organisations can do what they wish, but when taxpayers’ money is involved, there has to be an oversight mechanism to ensure that the purpose of any funding is actually being spent as intended.”

He said, however, that it is “critically important” that State funding does go towards promoting the concept of consent.

“But there has to be an oversight mechanism to ensure that we don’t have debacles – And that’s what last week was: a debacle – that could have and should have been avoided,” he said. 

Carthy also defended the justice minister’s decision to intervene in the DRCC to get the ad taken down.

Asked if the intervention from the minister was appropriate, Carthy said: “Well, the justice minister/the department provides funding”.

“I think, on reflection, everybody should have taken a deep breath, recognised that, I believe, a mistake was made in putting out the ad”. 

Asked if a State body should have oversight of what Sinn Féin chooses to publish, given that it receives taxpayer funding as a political party, Carthy argued that Sinn Féin is accountable to the Standards in Public Office (Sipo). 

“Any funding that any organisations receive from the State has to be accounted for. And there is far too much wastage of taxpayers’ money.

“I’m not suggesting that organisations that are involved in advocacy or support work for domestic or sexual violence are part of that. They’re absolutely not. But all taxpayers’ money has to be accounted for, and there has to be a level of transparency that we don’t see in the public sector more broadly,” he said. 

Last week, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said the Minister for Justice’s intervention with the DRCC consent campaign video risks creating “a pervasive chilling effect and self-censorship” within society. 

“What is unsettling… is a Minister for Justice interfering with the work of a non-profit organisation, partly funded by the Department of Justice, and pressuring it to pull and delete a video that seeks to educate people about consent,” the organisation said.

The ICCL described the sequence of events as “worrying” and cited a report it published two years ago, which highlighted how state funding “can create pressure on civil society organisations to limit their advocacy and campaigning”. 

“Episodes like this risk creating a pervasive chilling effect and self-censorship within civil society, a risk we outlined in our report. They also raise serious questions about government or ministerial interference in the work of civil society,” they continued. 

“Community, voluntary and non-profit organisations form a critical part of the democratic and service delivery landscape in Ireland. They have essential frontline experience and knowledge, and they must be able to speak, educate and campaign independently.”

The DRCC said the consent ad was created on a low budget using volunteers and DRCC staff.