THIS TIME NEXT week, a gaggle of new TDs will be packing their lunch boxes and sharpening their pencils for their first day in Leinster House. 

More than 60 newly minted politicians will take their seats in the 34th Dáil when it convenes for the first time on 18 December.

But they should all pay heed to a baptism of fire one newbie experienced today – and remind themselves that if in doubt, do a Ben Dunne.

“Huh?” they might exclaim.

Answer: If you find yourself in a spot of bother, whatever it may be, own up and put it all out there in the hopes of winning (back) the trust of the electorate. 

Newly elected Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes walked out on the Leinster House plinth today, flanked by the party’s deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan and other experienced TDs, including Gary Gannon and Jennifer Whitmore. 

The party should be floating on cloud nine, having nearly doubled its seats in the election, but instead it finds itself embroiled in the first political controversy of the pre-season. 

Hubris, perhaps? Being courted by other parties to enter government went to their heads. Whatever the reason, the party appeared to forget just how important preparation and attention to detail is before press conferences – especially if one of your new TDs has been splashed across the pages of a newspaper in recent days.

The Irish Daily Mail ran a story last week about Hayes’ past employment with a firm called Palantir that supplies technology to the Israeli Defence Forces. 

The firm provides militaries, including the Israeli Defence Forces, with artificial intelligence models used in battlegrounds.

Its software has been used by Israel to identify targets in Gaza. The newspaper report also revealed that Hayes divested previously held shares in the company.

Some facts. Hayes was elected as a TD for Dublin Bay South earlier this month. From 2015-2017, he worked for the controversial US firm.

Not surprisingly, the media had further questions on these facts today as it was the first press conference opportunity with Hayes. 

He was questioned by reporters about when he divested the shares he held in the software firm. Instead of putting the matter to bed, Hayes avoided specific and repeated questions about when exactly this happened.

Hayes merely replied that he divested completely from the shares in the past 12 months. 

When exactly?

“It was this year,” Hayes replied. 

When? What month? 

He refused to give any more detail, only stating that as soon as he became aware of the company’s close relationship with Israel, he divested his shares. 

All in, Hayes told journalists 23 times this morning that he divested shares in Palantir before entering politics (he was elected as a councillor in June). 

Members of the press pushed on, repeating the question about the timeline, and asking if he was embarrassed that he had these shares, especially as he had been vocal on Gaza. He was asked to point to a specific time of year and asked if he understood the relevance of the timeline. Still, no clarity was given. 

The level of avoidance in answering the straight questions became comical, with reporters telling the Social Democrats TDs that the questions wouldn’t just go away, and reminding them that an answer would have to be given, eventually. 

It certainly didn’t go away. 

A couple of hours after the monstering on the plinth, Hayes issued a statement that he had not been truthful:

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“I had 7,000 shares in the company, all of which dated from my employment nearly a decade ago, and sold them in July 2024 for a pre-tax figure of €199,000.

“Earlier today, during a press conference, I stated I had sold the shares before I entered politics. This was not true. It was a month after I was first elected.

“I unreservedly apologise for providing incorrect information and I am now correcting the record.”

Dragging out such a controversy is never wise.

It is always the drip feed of information that does the most damage. A drip that turns to a deluge is even worse. 

Ben Dunne – then director of the eponymous retail empire – was arrested in 1992 for possession of cocaine at the Grand Cypress Hotel in Florida, where he was also found to be in the company of a woman from an escort agency.

The high-profile incident made headlines back home. Against all PR advice, a grovelling public apology was made in which he revealed all the details relating to the embarrassing event.

The result? His son told the Irish Independent earlier this year that “ultimately, it was beneficial because there was nothing that could be a ‘gotcha’”.

So again, do a ‘Ben Dunne back from Florida’ on it is the best advice for any new TD entering the Dáil.

But it appears it was too little, too late for Hayes today.

Just five and a half hours after today’s press conference on the plinth, the newly elected TD has been suspended from his party before he could even take his seat in the Dáil. 

A clear lesson to those that put their name on the ballot and to political parties. Be open and transparent, no matter what, and to parties – do your due diligence before putting that candidate on the ticket, or at least, before you put them on the plinth.