Pat Sheehan

Pat Sheehan 
 Role: Sinn Fein MLA
 Constituency: Belfast West
 Party: Sinn Féin
 Last updated: 27 May 2026 
 
 Bio 
 
 
 
 Detail 
 Info 
 
 
 
 
 Name 
 Pat Sheehan 
 
 
 Constituency 
 Belfast West 
 
 
 Party 
 Sinn Féin 
 
 
 First elected 
 2022 (current mandate) 
 
 
 Role 
 Sinn Fein MLA 
 
 
 
 
 Key Information 
 
 MLA for West Belfast 
 Sinn Féin 
 In May 2026, Sheehan accused Department for Education and Education Authority officials of "lying to and gaslighting" committees during an Education Committee session over SEN reform. The Department called on him to substantiate or withdraw his remarks; he responded: "I stand by my remarks." 
 The FDA union subsequently called on First Minister Michelle O'Neill to condemn Sheehan's remarks, saying she must make it "unequivocally clear" such comments are unacceptable. 
 
 Recent Developments 
 
 27 May 2026: Sheehan accused Stormont Department for Education and Education Authority officials of "lying to and gaslighting" Assembly committees during an education committee session on controversial new Special Educational Needs (SEN) regulations. He favourably compared the Children's Law Centre — an NGO specialising in children's rights — to his experience with Stormont officials. The Department of Education called on him to "substantiate his allegations or withdraw them." Sheehan responded: "I stand by my remarks." (Source: The Irish News) 
 
 
 Twitter/X Discussion 
 
 Source: Nitter search, 26 May 2026 
 
 No significant discussion found on Nitter/X for this period — section created on setup. 
 Reddit Discussion 
 
 Source: Reddit, 26 May 2026 
 
 No significant discussion found yet — section created on setup. 
 
 Sources 
 
 Northern Ireland Assembly: https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/ 
 BBC Northern Ireland: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/northern_ireland