Labour and Social Democrats clash over Dáil committee roles amid suspended TD row

Social Democrats seek to count suspended TD Eoin Hayes in committee allocations, prompting criticism from Labour sources

Eoin Hayes was suspended from the party in December before the first sitting of the 34th Dáil, after he admitted to lying about when he sold shares in a controversial US company that provided the Israeli Defence Forces with AI tools. Picture: Leon Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

Labour and the Social Democrats are at odds over forming Dáil committees, as the latter seek to include suspended TD Eoin Hayes in its calculation of top jobs.

The Social Democrats have argued that there has been no change in the number of TDs they elected in November, despite Mr Hayes being suspended from the party in December last year.

In a letter to the Clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan, acting Social Democrats leader Cian O’Callaghan confirmed that there has been “no change” since the general election in the number of Social Democrat TDs elected.

“There were 11 Social Democrat TDs elected to this Dáil and, notwithstanding internal disciplinary measures, there remain 11 Social Democrat TDs in our party,” Mr O’Callaghan wrote.

A spokesperson for the Social Democrats has argued that the allocation of committee positions and chairs should be “proportionately based on the results from the general election”.

“The fact is that 11 Social Democrats TDs were elected in November. Internal disciplinary measures taken against one of those TDs should not impact the allocation of committee positions,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Hayes was suspended from the party in December before the first sitting of the 34th Dáil, after he admitted to lying about when he sold shares in a controversial US company that provided the Israeli Defence Forces with AI tools.

However, sources in Labour have criticised the move by the Social Democrats, highlighting that Mr Hayes has not been a member of their parliamentary party since before the first sitting of the 34th Dáil in December.

One senior Labour source hit out at the proposal, saying that the Social Democrats were trying to play “fast and loose with the rules”.

“It would be remarkably dishonest if they try to force this through at the Dáil reform committee.” However, a senior Social Democrats source rejected this accusation, saying that allocations based on the general election results are a “matter of precedent”.

If the Social Democrats are successful in implementing their proposal, they will receive an additional committee chair position, as well as precedence over Labour in Leaders’ Questions and committee allocations.

The matter is due to come up for discussion at a meeting of the Dáil’s reform committee this afternoon, with both the Government and Sinn Féin set to abstain if a vote is called.

The d’Hondt method is used to allocate Dáil committee chairs proportionately based on the number of TDs a party elected during the general election.

Existing proposals from the Government would see 16 committee chairs for both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, seven for Sinn Féin, two for Labour, one for the Social Democrats, one for the Independents and Parties technical group, and one for the Independent technical group.

It is expected that Dáil committees will be established next month. A new special committee on AI will be established on a time-bound basis.