Stephenson defends party decision to end Hayes' suspension
Speaking to reporters after attending the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee's Occupied Territories Bill report launch, Senator Stephenson also said she does not believe any Social Democrats TD or senator will quit the party over the controversy.
Last Friday evening, first-time TD for Dublin Bay South Eoin Hayes was re-admitted to the Social Democrats after a near eight-month suspension.
Deputy Hayes had been suspended weeks after last November's general election, and before the new Dáil had even sat, due to revelations he provided incorrect information to the media about the sale of shares in his former employer Palantir Technologies.
However, he was last week re-admitted to the party, with Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O' Callaghan saying he believed Deputy Hayes "should be given a second chance".
Yesterday, Deputy O'Callaghan's administrative assistant quit the party over the decision.
Asked during a press conference on the Occupied Territories Bill report about the decision to re-admit Deputy Hayes to the Social Democrats, party senator Patricia Stephenson initially declined to comment, saying she would speak with the media after the event.
After the event, the Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson said when asked if she is happy with the decision to re-admit Deputy Hayes: "I think the way Cian O'Callaghan handled that was very well and strong, and I fully support Cian O'Callaghan in his decision making."
She responded to questions over whether she believes other party members may leave over the issue by saying:
"I don't believe the parliamentary party members will leave and I can't speak for voters, because obviously there's a lot of divergence of views."
Senator Stephenson had earlier told journalists that Deputy Hayes had made a mistake, broken people's trust and had to re-build that trust in the coming period.
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