Social Democrats TD suspended amid shares controversy

A newly-elected Social Democrats TD has been suspended from their parliamentary party after revealing he sold shares in a US software company with links to the Israeli military a month after he was elected as a councillor.

The suspension came after Eoin Hayes confirmed that he divested shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies, in July for a pre-tax figure of 199,000 euro. The company supplies technology to Israel’s military.

He sold the shares a month after he was elected to Dublin City Council.

Mr Hayes admitted he had given incorrect information earlier on Tuesday morning when he insisted, under sustained questioning from reporters, that he had divested the shares prior to entering elected politics.

The TD confirmed on Tuesday evening that he will sit as an independent when the Dail convenes on December 18 for the first time since the general election.

He said he had let himself down by making a mistake that “wasn’t intentional”, as he expressed hope he could win back the trust of his constituents and party.

The Social Democrats have been vociferous critics of Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza.

On Tuesday morning, Mr Hayes faced media questions over his divestment of shares in the company and initially refused to confirm exactly when he sold them, saying he divested them before he was elected to local politics in June.

But in a statement hours later, Mr Hayes apologised and admitted he gave incorrect information.

Public records state that he signed his declaration of interests for Dublin City Council on June 26, when he said he had divested all Palantir shares in the last year.

The Social Democrats representative went on to win a Dail seat in Dublin Bay South in last month’s general election.

Mr Hayes was given shares in the company, which supplies technology to Israel to assist in its war in Gaza, when he worked for the firm between 2015 and 2017.

“In the interests of full transparency I want to provide all of the details surrounding my previous employment with software company Palantir,” Mr Hayes said in a statement.

“I worked for Palantir between 2015 and 2017 in internal operations, in areas like HR and IT, when I lived in the United States.

“I had absolutely no role in anything related to any military contracts – for the Israeli military or anyone else.

“As part of my salary package I was provided with shares. The conditions attaching to those shares meant I was unable to sell them until 2021 – six months after the company had gone public.

“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.

“I had 7,000 shares in the company, all of which dated from my employment nearly a decade ago, and sold them in July 2024 for a pre-tax figure of 199,000 euro.

“Earlier today, during a press conference, I stated I had sold the shares before I entered politics. This was not true. It was a month after I was first elected.

“I unreservedly apologise for providing incorrect information and I am now correcting the record.”

Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan said in a statement: “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.

“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 further statement on Tuesday evening, Mr Hayes confirmed he would sit as an independent next week. He also said when filling out a form to declare his interests on July 26 he had “mistyped” the date and entered June 26 instead.

“As someone who cares deeply about accountability in government, it is only right that I hold myself to the same standard,” he said.

“I made a mistake. It wasn’t intentional, but nonetheless, I failed to provide accurate information regarding the exact date on which I divested my shares.

“The public has every right to expect their representatives to provide honest and precise information, especially when questioned by the press. I let myself and my party down today, and for that, I am sorry. This will not happen again. I’m new to politics and the spotlight that comes with it, but that’s no excuse. I made a mistake, and I take full responsibility.”

He said he had sought to divest the shares earlier but “administrative barriers” delayed the process.

He added: “I want to additionally clarify that while I drafted, signed, and submitted a form on July 26 2024 disclosing my divestment of the shares, which email correspondence substantiates, I mistyped the date on the form as June 26 2024.”

It was reported in January that data analytics firm Palantir, which provides militaries with artificial intelligence models, agreed to a partnership with the IDF to supply it technology in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The firm’s artificial intelligence software and intelligence system is used to identify “targets”.

Shares in Palantir increased from 16.63 dollars (15.83 euro) on October 7, the day of the Hamas attacks, to 28.58 dollars (27.20 euro) by the end of July this year.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the episode appeared to be a “serious matter”.

He told Virgin Media News: “It is obviously a matter for the Social Democrats in the first instance. I think the fact that they’ve taken that decision, I suppose probably reflects the seriousness which they attach to the matter as well.

“Let’s see how it develops. I’m not across all the detail.”

Sinn Fein’s Matt Carthy called for Mr Hayes to resign his Dail seat, questioning whether he had been elected on “false pretences”.

“I believe the honourable thing for him to do will be to resign his seat in the Dail,” Mr Carthy said.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the revelation was “disgraceful”.

“If I was (in) the Social Democrats, I would be very, very, very concerned about that, because that flies in the face of what they stood in front of the electorate, on their platform in relation to Palestine,” the Dun Laoghaire TD said.