Eoin Hayes to sit as Independent in Dáil after suspension from Social Democrats

Ellen O'Donoghue

Recently elected Social Democrats' TD Eoin Hayes has said he will sit as an Independent in the Dáil after being suspended from the party, Newstalk have reported.

The Dublin Bay South deputy was sanctioned on Tuesday after admitting to giving incorrect information about when he divested shares he had in a company linked to the Israel Defense Forces.

In a statement to the media last night, Mr Hayes apologised and said he hopes to “earn back the trust of the Social Democrats”.

This comes following the revelation that he sold his shares in a US software company that supplies the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) a month after he was elected as a councillor last June.

His suspension was announced in a statement from party deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan on Tuesday evening.

“At a press conference today, Eoin Hayes stated he had sold shares in Palantir before he entered politics. This was not true. Eoin was first elected to Dublin City Council in June 2024 and the shares were sold in July 2024,” the statement said.

“This is a serious matter. It is imperative that the media, who hold politicians to account on behalf of the public, can rely on the information they receive from elected representatives.

“For that reason, Eoin Hayes has been suspended from the Social Democrats parliamentary party with immediate effect.”

In a statement on Tuesday night, Mr Hayes said he intends to sit as an Independent TD once the Dáil resumes on December 18th.

He said that while he “disposed of the shares in July 2024″, he had “sought to do much earlier but administrative barriers delayed the process”.

Mr Hayes issued an earlier statement apologising for incorrect information he gave at the press conference about his shareholding.