Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes has been “indefinitely” suspended from the Social Democrats party, it has been revealed.
Cian O’Callaghan TD, who is the Social Democrats’ deputy leader, has confirmed that the party’s national executive has decided to “indefinitely suspend” Hayes, doubling down on a previous decision by the parliamentary party.
Hayes was embroiled in controversy last year after it emerged that he had held shares in Palantir, a tech company that provides AI software to a wide range of major governments and corporations including Airbus, Ferrari, BP, Morgan Stanley, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
The main source of the controversy was that, in addition to its many clients, Palantir also provides technology to the Israeli Defence Forces, which proved contentious given the current conflict in Gaza.
This all culminated in Hayes being suspended from the party last December.
Today, speaking at Leinster House, O’Callaghan stated that there was no set timeframe for reviewing the party’s decision or any specific conditions for Hayes’ potential return.
He dismissed claims that the Social Democrats were hoping Hayes, who was elected to the Dáil for the first time last November as a TD for Dublin Bay South, would step down from the party of his own volition.
In December, shortly after his election to the Dáil, Hayes initially claimed that he had sold shares in Palantir before he entered politics. However, it later came to light that this was not accurate, and that he had sold the Palantir shares in July 2024, the month after he had been elected to Dublin City Council.
In a correcting statement at the time, Hayes said he was granted 7,000 shares as part of his employment package while working for the company in the US seven years before. He later sold these shares in July 2024 for €199,000.
“I unreservedly apologise for providing incorrect information and I am now correcting the record,” he told the media when correcting the record at the time, stressing that he had no involvement in any defence-related matters, Israeli or otherwise.
“…Throughout the course of the past year, Palantir’s support for the Israeli military has markedly increased. In January, the company signed a new strategic partnership with the Israeli Defence Ministry. I should have sold my shares then and I deeply regret that I did not.”