Social Democrats have ‘no timeline’ on Eoin Hayes decision

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

There is “no timeline” for a decision on the future of a TD who has been been suspended from the Social Democrats parliamentary party.

Eoin Hayes was indefinitely suspended in December after making incorrect statements about his shares in a company linked to the Israeli military.

He had originally told the media and his party colleagues that he divested shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies, before being elected to Dublin City Council in June.

But he later revealed that he sold the shares in July – after taking office – for a pre-tax figure of €199,000. The company supplies technology to Israel’s military.

The Social Democrats had been calling for economic sanctions against Israel months before Mr Hayes’ election to the council. He became a TD in November.

The national executive reviewed his suspension and now sits with the parliamentary party for any further consideration.

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said Mr Hayes was “held to account immediately” and suspended from the party when the matter came to light.

However, she said there is “no timeline” for the parliamentary party to make a further decision on the matter.

She added: “Eoin Hayes was suspended from the parliamentary party, there’s been no decision made on readmitting him.”

Asked how long a decision would take, she said: “There’s been no decision made on it, that’s it. There’s no further information for you.”

Pressed for a timeline for a decision by the party’s national executive, Ms Whitmore said: “The executive undertook their review and it is a matter for the parliamentary party.

As the Dáil reconvenes on Wednesday, attention has been drawn to committees which have yet to be formed amid the ongoing speaking rights row.

Asked if Mr Hayes was being ruled out of the calculus of the party’s representation for the purposes of allocating positions on committees, Ms Whitmore said: “Eoin Hayes is currently not a member of the parliamentary party, he’s been suspended.”

Pressed for a yes or no answer, she said: “The committees are not being set up, he’s not a member of the parliamentary party at the moment.”

Asked about the lack of timeline presented by the party, Labour party whip Duncan Smith said he would “let the Social Democrats deal with their own controversy”.

He said the Social Democrats would not appreciate any comment from Labour on the matter.

However, when asked if Labour had set timelines for similar matters, he said: “We have very rigorous internal structures to deal with whatever the matter might be.

“I mean, it’s hard to comprehend, because something like this has never happened with us.”