The Social Democrats has lifted the suspension of Eoin Hayes, saying the TD deserves a “second chance”
The Dublin Bay South TD was suspended by the party last December after it emerged he did not sell his shares in Palantir – a company that has supplied software and technology to the Israel Defense Forces – until a month after he was elected as a Dublin city councillor last June.
This contradicted information he had previously given that he had sold the shares in the company, where he worked from 2015 to 2017, before he entered politics.
“Eoin has been suspended from the parliamentary party for nearly eight months and I believe he should be given a second chance,” Cian O’Callaghan, the acting Social Democrats party leader, said.
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“Eoin has a lot to offer as a Social Democrats TD and I look forward to working with him.”
Mr Hayes has once again apologised for giving incorrect information about when he divested his shares in Palantir, and for keeping shares in the controversial company linked with the Israel Defense Forces for as long as he did.
Mr Hayes said he has now donated $51,000 to three organisations working in Gaza – which represents an uplift in the share price between the outbreak of the war and when he finally sold his shares in July 2024.
Commenting on his return to the party, Mr Hayes said “at the outset” that he wants to give “a full and unequivocal apology for giving the incorrect information to the media about when I divested from Palantir”.
“I also want to be clear that I should not have held the shares for as long as I did,” he said.
“For that reason, I have donated $51,000 to three humanitarian organisations active in Gaza – split between, Unrwa, Unicef and Doctors without Borders. This figure represents the uplift in share price, less applicable taxes, from October 7 2023 to July 26 2024, when I sold the shares.
“I know I have let people down and I am determined to work hard and earn back people’s trust.”
Mr Hayes was one of 11 Social Democrats TDs who won a seat in last November’s General Election. By December, before the Dáil had even sat, Mr Hayes was suspended from the party with “immediate effect” after providing incorrect information about when he sold the shares to the media.
In February, the Social Democrats decided to extend Mr Hayes suspension following a review by the party’s national executive. The review had decided to endorse the decision of the parliamentary party to indefinitely suspend Mr Hayes.
