Eoin Hayes | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Hayes in 2024 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office November 2024 | |
| Constituency | Dublin Bay South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1987-10-15)15 October 1987 (age 38) Limerick, Ireland |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (Dec. 2024 – Jul. 2025)[1] |
| Alma mater | |
Eoin Hayes (born 15 October 1987) is an IrishSocial Democrats politician, who has been aTeachta Dála (TD) for theDublin Bay South constituency since the2024 general election.[2] Hayes served as a member ofDublin City Council from June 2024 until his election to theDáil.[3] He was indefinitely suspended from theSocial Democrats parliamentary party almost immediately after the election following a controversy over holding shares inPalantir Technologies. He sat as anindependent politician during the first session of the34th Dáil, but was readmitted to the Social Democrats in July 2025.[1]
Hayes was born inLimerick, Ireland. At age six, he moved toWilliamsport, Pennsylvania with his family.[4] They returned to Limerick when Hayes was 14, and he completed hisLeaving Certificate atCastletroy College.
He studied chemical engineering atUniversity College Cork, after which he completed an MSc in Management atLondon Business School of the University of London.
Hayes was an intern atGoogle in 2011[5] and worked inmanagement consulting inNew York City with a boutique firm, the Alexander Group, in 2013.[4] From 2015 to 2017, he worked for the software companyPalantir Technologies.[4][6]
On returning to Dublin in 2017, Hayes founded a consulting firm, Cantillon Labs, which he has led since.[7][4]
Hayes was elected as president of the Students' Union at University College Cork in 2009.[8] He was active in protesting against the re-introduction of student fees by thegovernment of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.[9] He was also active in opposing additional fees on students, including printing fees and graduation fees.[10][11]
In 2012, he campaigned for and was employed by theBarack Obama's re-election campaign as a political deputy in the data team at the headquarters in Chicago.[12][8]
At the2024 Dublin City Council election, he was elected as aSocial Democrats candidate for thelocal electoral area ofKimmage–Rathmines.[13][14]
In July 2024, the Social Democrats selected Hayes as their candidate in the constituency ofDublin Bay South.[15][16] At the2024 general election, he was elected to the Dáil, defeatingChris Andrews to win the fourth and final seat in the constituency.[17]
In September 2025, Hayes apologised for a Halloween costume he wore in 2009 of then US PresidentBarack Obama in whichhe wore brown make-up.[18][19]
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During his employment withPalantir Technologies, Hayes received 7,000 shares in the company, which supplies artificial intelligence tools to theIsrael Defense Forces.[20] At a press conference on 10 December 2024, Hayes claimed that he had disposed of his Palantir shares before entering electoral politics. However, he acknowledged later that day that he had sold the shares for €199,000 on 26 July 2024, more than a month after his election to Dublin City Council.[21] In a statement, Hayes said: "I unreservedly apologise for providing incorrect information and I am now correcting the record".[20]
The Social Democrats suspended Hayes from the parliamentary party with immediate effect,[22] with deputy leaderCian O'Callaghan stating: "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."[20] Hayes sat as anindependent when the34th Dáil met for the first time on 18 December.[23][20]
Hayes' admission also drew criticism from other parties.Sinn Féin director of electionsMatt Carthy said: "Had this information been in the public domain [prior to the 2024 general election], it is my very firm belief that Eoin Hayes would not be a TD, and that [Sinn Féin candidate]Chris Andrews would have been re-elected". Claiming that Hayes had "won his seat on false pretences", Carthy called for his resignation.[21]People Before Profit–Solidarity leaderRichard Boyd Barrett accused Hayes of "profiting from genocide".[21]
On 13 December, the Social Democrats' head office near the Dáil was evacuated after staff reported receiving a suspicious package addressed to Hayes. A number of companies located in the same building were also evacuated. However, an investigation by the army's bomb disposal unit found that the package contained no explosive material, and the Gardaí determined that the threat was not credible.[24][25]
On 11 February 2025 deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan confirmed that the national executive of the Social Democrats had completed an investigation into the matter, and chose to "endorse" the parliamentary party's decision to suspend Hayes from the parliamentary party indefinitely. He was not expelled from the party and remains a member of the Social Democrats, with no timeline to return to the parliamentary party. When asked if this meant he was still a Social Democrat TD, O'Callaghan replied: "When we made a decision back in December to suspend his membership from the parliamentary party, he wasn't a Social Democrat TD from that period onwards."[26][27]
On 9 April 2025 it was revealed that the previous day Cian O'Callaghan had written to the clerk of the Dáil saying: "There were 11 Social Democrat TDs elected to this Dáil and, not withstanding internal disciplinary measures, there remain 11 Social Democrat TDs in our party.". This was for the purposes of the party getting to chair an additionalOireachtas committee as they are apportioned according to party/group size. Without counting Hayes, they would have only received a single committee Chair.[26] O'Callaghan also clarified that there had been "no change" to his status within the party and that measures announced in February were still in place.[28]
Hayes's suspension from the party was lifted on 25 July 2025. He donated $51,000 to three charities working in Gaza, with that money representing the uplift in share price from7 October 2023 to 26 July 2024. Hayes apologised for not divesting sooner and for providing incorrect information to the media and the party. Cian O'Callaghan believed "he should be given a second chance".[27]