Social Democrats use suspended TD’s seat to get committee chair role

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Social Democrats have used a seat won by a TD later suspended from the parliamentary party to get an Oireachtas committee chair role, which comes with a €10,000 per year bonus.

Oireachtas committee chair positions are assigned using the d’Hondt method, which deals out the posts to Government and opposition parties in proportion to how many seats they won in the general election.

The d’Hondt system also dictates the order in which the roles are assigned and influences regular positions on the committee.

The Social Democrats won 11 seats in November’s election, but Eoin Hayes was indefinitely suspended from the parliamentary party in December after making incorrect statements about his shares in a company linked to the Israeli military.

By including his seat in the party’s overall total for the d’Hondt distribution, the Social Democrats were able to hold on to two committee chair positions – each with an annual allowance bonus of €10,888.

If he had been excluded, the party would have only had one committee chair position.

The party argued on Wednesday that its internal disciplinary proceedings should not impact the allocation of committee positions, as the d’Hont system is based on election results.

A party spokesman said the Dáil Reform Committee ultimately agreed to count all 11 seats for the Social Democrats and the party will be allocated two chairperson roles.

Mr Hayes had originally told the media and his party colleagues that he divested shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies, which supplies technology to Israel’s military, 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 Social Democrats had been calling for economic sanctions against Israel months before Mr Hayes’ election to the council. He was elected as a TD in November.

His suspension, which came before the current Dáil had sat for the first time, was reviewed by the national executive and remains with the parliamentary party for any further consideration.

Asked last month if Mr Hayes would be included in the party’s calculus for Government formation, Social Democrat TD Jennifer Whitmore said: “Eoin Hayes is currently not a member of the parliamentary party, he’s been suspended.”

Her comment came weeks before moves on committee formation were advanced after a vote on the speaking rights row.

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

A party spokesman said on Wednesday: “It has always been the case that committee positions are allocated proportionately based on the results from the general election. That position was maintained at the Dail reform committee this evening.

“This was important to reflect the mandate that the Social Democrats received at the election. The decision doesn’t just have an impact on the number of chairperson positions – it also impacts the choice of committees available to the party and the number of committee positions.

“The fact is that 11 Social Democrats TD were elected in November. Internal disciplinary measures have been taken against one of those TDs, Eoin Hayes.

“That should not, and did not, have an impact on the allocation of committee places.”