Fianna Fáil TD on artificial intelligence committee holds stock in AI company founded by two IDF veterans
By Dean Buckley
Fianna Fáil appointed a newly elected TD to the Oireachtas artificial intelligence committee – even though he holds stock worth thousands in an AI company co-founded by a man who “conducted classified intelligence work” for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Naoise Ó Cearúil became Kildare North’s newest TD last year after a decade on Kildare County Council and is Fianna Fáil’s AI spokesperson. His party colleague Malcolm Byrne appointed him to the AI committee last month.
Ó Cearúil declared restricted stock units worth €13,154.86 in his previous employer Gong – established in Tel Aviv in 2015 by two IDF veterans – in his Dáil register.
When asked by The Ditch if it’s appropriate for him to sit on the AI committee, Ó Cearúil said, “There is no conflict, my ethics declaration is available to the public. Additionally, If there was a potential conflict of interest during a session, I will recuse myself from that session.”
‘An international perspective and a state perspective’
In a Dáil debate on artificial intelligence before the committee’s establishment, Ó Cearúil recommended the new committee “come up with some suggestions to government with how we can utilise AI from an international perspective and a state perspective”.
He asked taoiseach Micheál Martin to "ensure that AI is treated not just as a tech issue but as a cornerstone of Ireland's future economic strategy".
Ó Cearúil was a senior enterprise customer success manager at AI company Gong from 2022 till 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile, which also claims he was a founding member of the customer success team.
Gong was founded in Israel in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Amit Bendov and Eilon Reshef and is currently headquartered in San Francisco.
Reshef was a software developer and product owner in the Israel Defense Forces from 1990 to 1993, conducting intelligence work, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bendov served in the IDF’s armoured corps, according to Israeli media.
The IDA supported Gong in setting up its European HQ in Dublin in 2022, assisting with staff recruitment and finding an office.
Ó Cearúil’s declaration says his stock in Gong is in restricted stock units that cannot be sold until Gong goes public. These units are promises of future shares (or cash equivalent) received after certain conditions or milestones are met.
One of Gong’s earliest and largest investors is Cisco Investments, the venture capital wing of Cisco Systems, a major provider of both software and hardware to the Israel Defense Forces.
Cisco has been one of the Israeli military’s primary technology vendors since 2017 when it got a five-year contract to succeed Hewlett-Packard as the sole provider of servers to the IDF.
Ó Cearúil told The Ditch he didn’t know about Cisco’s investments in Gong nor is he aware of a way of transferring this stock.