Hayes “indefinitely” suspended from Social Democrats, O’Callaghan confirms

Eoin Hayes’ suspension from the Social Democrats has been made “indefinite.”

Hayes, who beat Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews for the final seat in Dublin Bay South was seen as a major coup for the party in November’s general election, but the victory quickly turned sour amid the Palantir affair.

It had emerged that Hayes had owed shares in the Peter Thiel-owned company, which has developed AI for usage for the Israeli military, and that Hayes misrepresented the exact details of when he divested from the company.

Hayes gave contradictory accounts of when he sold the shares, leading to the party suspending him in December, mere hours after he gave the comments.

Speaking today, acting leader Cian O’Callaghan confirmed that the party had agreed to extend Hayes’ suspension on an indefinitive basis after a review by the party’s national executive.

The Irish Examiner reported that that Hayes did not tell the party about the exact size of his shareholding from his former employers.

He told reporters that the party has also made a number of recommendations about improving candidate selection.

Hayes shot to prominence after being elected to Dublin City Council last June as a first-time candidate, winning a seat in Kimmage-Rathmines, with his November Dáil victory seen as a major breakout moment for the party.

Hayes now sits as an independent in the Dáil, and it will now be a decision of the Social Democrats other 10 TDs if Hayes is allowed back into the party or not.

Based on O’Callaghan’s comments (in December, he was quoted as saying “to say I am embarrassed about what happened would be an understatement; I’m very angry about the way this happened”) Hayes is likely to sit out the rest of the term from the independent benches.

O’Callaghan said of the affair “clarity wasn’t provided at any stage up until the day of the suspension about the value or size of the shareholding.”

The Dublin Bay North TD said a decision on Hayes’ future would be made “at a later date.”