IN A MOVE that might lift the spirits of outcast Social Democrats’ TD Eoin Hayes, his estranged party colleagues have said he is still one of them – but just for the purposes of Oireachtas committees. 

Hayes was suspended from the Social Democrats last year, less than two weeks after being elected as a TD for Dublin Bay South, after it emerged he gave incorrect details about shares he held in a software firm that supplies technology to the Israeli Defence Forces.

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.

Yesterday, though, acting leader of the party, Cian O’Callaghan, told the clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan, that Hayes is still one of them. 

In correspondence sent to Finnegan, an email with the subject line “Number of Social Democrat T.D.s” clarified that the party still has eleven TDs. 

“I wish to confirm that there has been no change since the election of November 2024 in the number of Social Democrat T.D.s elected to the Dáil,” O’Callaghan wrote.

“There were 11 Social Democrat T.D.s elected to this Dáil and, not withstanding internal disciplinary measures, there remain 11 Social Democrat T.D.s in our party.” 

However, speaking to The Journal, O’Callaghan said there is “no change” in Hayes’ status within the party and that the disciplinary measures are still in place. 

The letter from O’Callaghan to the clerk of the Dáil comes in the context of the creation of Oireachtas committees, which are finally getting off the ground after significant delays due to the speaking rights row. 

Committee chairs are allocated proportionally among the parties in the Oireachtas based on the number of TDs and senators each party has – this system is known as the d’Hondt method.

Under the d’Hondt method, committee chairs are allocated based on the election results, which means that for the purposes of Oireachtas committees, the Social Democrats would always be counted as having 11 TDs. 

Hayes is currently listed as an Independent TD on the Oireachtas website. 

In a statement issued by Hayes in December following his suspension, he said: “When the Dáil resumes on the 18th of December, I will take my seat as an Independent. I hope to earn back the trust of the Social Democrats and will work hard to do so.”