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DUP MLA Diane Dodds has submitted an urgent question, asking if confidence in Michelle O'Neill's office as first minister has been diminished.

The question states: "Departmental responsibilities towards victim and survivors of childhood abuse and children in relation to how she and her party managed issues of child protection and safeguarding following the arrest of Mr Michael McMonagle have diminished confidence in her office."

You can watch the proceedings live by clicking play at the top of this page.

Fearghal McKinney, head of the BHF in Northern Ireland, says it was important to correct the record as the charity has suffered reputational damage due to the fall out.

Mr McKinney said he spoke to O’Neill on Saturday morning and that she offered “words of regret and apology about what has happened”.

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Sinn Féin has insisted the party leadership was unaware of the references until late last month, but it has now admitted an HR manager was informed about them last year by the British Heart Foundation.

O'Neill has described that as a "serious omission" from earlier accounts.

She said the manager did not inform the party leadership.

Sinn Féin minister Conor Murphy says the party did not want to prejudice the police investigation by informing the charity of McMonagle's arrest.

He told BBC News NI that, at the time, McMonagle was facing accusations and there was no way of knowing if he would ultimately be charged.

But this has been contradicted by PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, who says sharing information with the charity would not have compromised the investigation.

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Sinn Féin faced scrutiny after it emerged that two former press officers provided references for Michael McMonagle three months after he was dismissed from the party while under police investigation.

O'Neill says she was "aghast and horrified' by the actions of the press officers who resigned in late September.

We now know from the British Heart Foundation that Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley raised no concern about McMonagle's suitability for employment or referenced the ongoing police investigation.

Michael McMonagle of Limewood Street in Londonderry admitted a series of child sex offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, in September.

He had worked for Sinn Féin for about seven years until his arrest in 2021, after which his employment with the party ended.

He was then employed by the British Heart Foundation charity a year later, having received references from two other former Sinn Féin press officers.

The charity says it "knew nothing" of the charges he was facing.

He is set to be sentenced in November.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

At about 15:30 BST Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O'Neill will face questions about how her party dealt with former press officer and now child sex offender Michael McMonagle.

Two party press officers resigned after providing references for McMonagle while he was being investigated for child sex offences.

O'Neill admitted on Saturday that "serious omissions" were made in earlier accounts provided by the party.

You can watch the proceedings live by clicking play at the top of this page.