People Before Profit have condemned the Social Democrats for quietly readmitting Eoin Hayes to their parliamentary party in a decision that was cynically announced late on a Friday evening, during the Dáil recess, to minimise scrutiny.
Eoin Hayes was rightly suspended in December after it was revealed he had profited to the tune of nearly €200,000 from shares in Palantir, a company deeply embedded in the Israeli war machine for close to its entire existence as a company. Palantir’s surveillance and targeting systems are used by Israel to execute its ongoing genocidal assault on Palestinians, an assault that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
Despite Palantir's long-documented complicity in human rights abuses, from Gaza to the US-Mexico border (where their technology has been used for more than a decade), Hayes held onto his shares for nine months of genocide, only selling them in July 2024. When asked about this at the time, he claimed to have divested “before entering politics.” This was false. He signed a misleading declaration to Dublin City Council and lied repeatedly to the public.
When confronted at a press conference in December, Hayes refused to answer 23 direct questions from journalists on when and how he sold his shares.
Since then, the Social Democrats have offered no transparency on the matter. Their decision to now quietly bring Hayes back into the fold sends a clear message: ethical standards, public trust and Palestinian solidarity are less of a priority than seats in the Dáil and points in opinion polls.
This is not just a political scandal, it is a direct contradiction of the values the Social Democrats claim to stand for. Since their foundation ten years ago, they have positioned themselves as the party of integrity and higher standards in public life, claiming to be an alternative to the corruption and cynicism of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. For many voters and members, that commitment to honesty and transparency has been central to their appeal. The handling of the Hayes affair will come as a real disappointment to many of those supporters, and rightly so.
Everything about this is reminiscent of the politics that governed this state for a hundred years, say one thing at elections, do the opposite when elected. Stand with the mass movement in solidarity with Palestine during an election, profit from genocide of Palestinians.
It is welcomed that Eoin Hayes will donate a sum of money to Palestinian charities but there are still many questions to answer about his actions and dishonesty, about the nature of his work for Palantir and his suitability as a representative of a progressive, left wing political party in light of all of this.
“This whole situation raises serious questions, not just about Eoin Hayes’ judgment, but about the standards the Social Democrats are willing to accept,” said Cllr Conor Reddy of People Before Profit, a long time Palestine Solidarity activist and one of the founders of Trinity College Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign. “The public was misled. There was no transparency. And now we’re being asked to accept this quietly. I think a lot of people who voted Social Democrats precisely because they thought they were different, more principled, more honest, will be deeply uncomfortable with how this has been handled. I would hope that those members and supporters make their thoughts known. As the idea of a United Left opposition is growing and as we enter into a Presidential campaign where the broad forces of the left are standing together, I think it's more important than ever that we insist on higher standards of accountability and honesty.”
Palestine solidarity is not a fashion accessory for election season. It is a test of political integrity and the Social Democrats have failed that test in this case.
People Before Profit called for Eoin Hayes to resign in December. We reiterate that call today.