Suspend Social Democrats Eoin Hayes to refund political donation that exceeded electoral rules
The Dublin Bay South TD was suspended from the Soc Dems on Tuesday after he gave incorrect information to journalists on the sale of shares he held in a US software which supplies technology to Israel and the IDF to assist in the ongoing war.
Suspended Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes has confirmed he will refund a political donor following a donation which exceeded electoral rules.
The Dublin Bay South TD was suspended from the Soc Dems on Tuesday after he gave incorrect information to journalists on the sale of shares he held in a US software which supplies technology to Israel and the IDF to assist in the ongoing war.
Mr Hayes repeatedly stated he sold his shares in Palantir before he was elected to Dublin City Council in June 2024.
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However, he was later forced to clarify he sold them in July for €199,000 pre-tax and was later suspended from the party.
Since the controversy emerged, screenshots of donation pages set up by Mr Hayes in advance of his local and general election campaigns have started circulating online.
In January 2024, he set up a GoFundMe page to “support Eoin’s Local Election Campaign 2024” as he prepared to run for Dublin City Council in the Kimmage-Rathmines area.
By December 10, this page had raised €8,895.
Despite the page being set up for the local election campaign and a link provided in the description to the donation page for the general election campaign, the GoFundMe account continued to receive donations over the last few months.
This included one donation on or around November 15 of €2,500.
The rules for political donations are stated in a document prepared by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) for the general election.
Under the “prohibited donations” heading, it said that an “anonymous donation exceeding €100 cannot be accepted”.
It also stated: “€1,000 is the maximum donation that may be accepted by a candidate in a particular year from an individual or a registered corporate donor.”
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, Mr Hayes confirmed that he “did not use any part of the” €2,500 donation “for expenses”.
“I have already advised the donor it is in excess of the allowable total donation to an individual and will be refunding the excess amount with their agreement,” he said.
“They had misinterpreted the rules confusing the maximum for parties (€2,500) with individuals (€1,000).
“I am in the process of refunding the €1,500 excess to the donor to their bank account. All will be reported in my donations declaration when it becomes due.”
He added: “The donation was made during my General election campaign to my GoFundMe account, which allows the donor to make an anonymous donation of any amount.
“I did not request that amount, nor did I suggest it be made anonymously. Those were [the] decisions of the donor.”
Mr Hayes later confirmed that the donor is “not anonymous to me” and “will be reporting their name and address in the annual declaration in accordance with the regulatory requirements”.
Mr Hayes also set up an “iDonate” page for the general election campaign, which noted donations worth €9,253 before it was deleted earlier this week.
This included a € 250 donation in early December, sent with the message “to celebrate success.”
On this page, Mr Hayes wrote, “I am standing because others who can't are counting on me. And so now, in turn, I'm counting on you.”
Mr Hayes also wrote on the page that Ireland “stands at a crossroads” and that “political change is coming one way or another”.
He stated that he wants to “lead that change”, stating that change would be “more compassionate”, “accountable” and “of higher integrity”.
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