Eoin Hayes has suspension from SocDems lifted, eight months after controversy over IDF-linked shares
A party spokesperson said the decision was made by acting leader Cian O'Callaghan, in line with the party's constitution.
Hayes lost the whip on 10 December, 2024,
when he provided incorrect information to the media about the sale of shares in Palantir Technologies, his former employer.
Palantir provides militaries, including the Israeli Defence Forces, with artificial intelligence models used in battlegrounds to help identify targets.
Its software has been used by Israel to identify targets in Gaza.
In February of this year, a review carried out by the national executive of the Social Democrats endorsed the decision to
suspend Hayes 'indefinitely' from the parliamentary party.
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However, in a statement this evening, O'Callaghan remarked that Hayes has been suspended from the parliamentary party for close to eight months and that he 'should be given a second chance'.
'Eoin has a lot to offer as a Social Democrats TD and I look forward to working with him,' added O'Callaghan.
Meanwhile, Hayes offered a 'full and unequivocal apology for giving the incorrect information to the media about when I divested from Palantir'.
'I also want to be clear that I should not have held the shares for as long as I did,' he added.
Hayes said he has donated $51,000 to three humanitarian organisations active in Gaza – split between, UNRWA, Unicef and Doctors without Borders.
'This figure represents the uplift in share price, less applicable taxes, from 7 October, 2023 to 26 July, 2024, when I sold the shares.
'I know I have let people down and I am determined to work hard and earn back people's trust.'
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