Eoin Hayes at today's public sector strike outside Leinster House. The Journal
Social Democrats
The Social Democrats TD said his focus today is on the public sector strike.
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Eoin Hayes has insisted he is not in hiding from reporters and that he will speak to the media on the plinth of Leinster House “at some point”.
Hayes paid a visit to the picket outside the Dáil today to support workers participating in the public sector strike.
The Dublin Bay South TD was back in the headlines last month after he failed to show up for the press conference at his party’s think-in for a second year in a row.
Hayes, who is his party’s social protection spokesperson, has had limited engagements with reporters since he became a TD in 2024 and was suspended almost immediately from the party.
His suspension, which was lifted eight months later, came after he gave incorrect details about when he sold shares he held in software firm Palantir, which supplies technology to the Israeli Defence Forces.
Since then, Hayes has not participated in any of his party’s weekly Tuesday press conferences on the plinth of Leinster House.
The week before the Social Democrats’ think-in this year, The Ditch reported that Hayes had boasted online about co-leading a team that cut 200 jobs at a global tech firm.
Responding to questions about the report during the think-in press conference, deputy leader of the party Cian O’Callaghan said Hayes had clarified that he was not “involved in the decision-making process around who was laid off and who wasn’t”.
He denied that Hayes was being kept away from reporters and said he will “certainly” be running for the party as a candidate in the next election.
Speaking to The Journal at the picket line today, Hayes was asked about the suggestion that he has been hiding from the media. Asked if that was the case, he said:
“No, not at all. Look, I’m here today, I meet with constituents every week, I see you all the time around Leinster House.
“I’m not in hiding at all, and I do my job every day.”
Asked if he will be out on the plinth, Hayes said: “Yeah, at some point, I’m sure I will when there’s something to talk about. Yeah, absolutely.”
On his failure to show up to the press conference last month, and his reaction to the Ditch’s story, Hayes said he would be “happy to talk about that another time”, but his focus today was on the strike.
“My focus today is on the public sector workers and public sector strikes. Obviously, there are lots of questions I think that lots of journalists have for another time, but this is what I’m focused on today,” he said.
On the strike, Hayes said there is a “huge problem” in terms of pay and conditions for public sector workers across the board.
“Look, we’re all reliant on them, right? We’re all reliant on public sector workers. They pave the streets. They educate our kids. They make sure that we have health services when we get sick. They deserve our support, and I’m more than happy to support them.”
On whether he expects the second day of industrial action to go ahead next week, Hayes said he hopes not and that he hopes the government will properly negotiate with the unions before then.