Growing political pressure for firm Govt action on Gaza

RTÉ News​

a day ago

All day Wednesday and late into the evening on the street facing Leinster House, demonstrators sang a stinging song urging politicians to find their "backbone" and to enact the Occupied Territories Bill.
The same sentiment echoed through the Dáil chamber.
Some within the Government bristled over what they believe is a shocking failure to take into account its outspoken voice on Gaza.
Words that have been matched by deeds, including €87 million in funding for people in Palestine since 2023, recognising the State of Palestine, supporting South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and leading the way in requesting a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The Taoiseach even claimed there is a battle under way domestically for moral superiority on what has become one of the most emotive issues in Irish politics.
The language denouncing Israel's actions has become sharper too with both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris repeatedly using the word genocide this week.
All remaining ambiguity and lingering diplomatic niceties have now been cast aside.
The Taoiseach believes the single more effective next step is to try to persuade the EU and the US to "pull their support for the State of Israel".
But it is the requirement for further direct interventions by this State rather than words alone which is fueling immense political tension.
A significant political act was about to unfold
It was evident as the bells were clanging around Leinster House just after 6pm on Wednesday when the weekly votes were called.
A significant political act was about to unfold before the business concluded.
Reporters watched from the Dáil gallery as Dublin Bay-North TD Barry Heneghan took his seat to vote on a Sinn Féin Bill.
It was a piece of legislation that would prevent the Central Bank from retaining its technical role in approving the prospectus which allows Israel sell bonds in the EU.
Israel has made it clear that these bonds are used to fund its war in Gaza.
Sinn Féin's legal advice stated that a Member State is entitled as a matter of EU law to unilaterally restrict access to its financial services.
It can do so on public policy grounds that are rooted in Ireland's fundamental interest in pursuing its international law obligations, the legal opinion concluded.
The Government argued that the Bill did not provide a legal mechanism to allow the Central Bank of Ireland set aside its obligations under the EU Prospectus Regulation.
It argued this was an EU competence, and the Central Bank can only refuse the approval of a prospectus where it has a legal basis to do so.
The advice circulated to ministers added that it is legally required to issue prospectuses that are complete, legally sound, and comprehensible.
For Barry Heneghan, who had supported the Government in every vote up to this point, this was a matter of conscience, and he believed Ireland shouldn't facilitate the sale of bonds that help fund the devastation in Gaza.
He left Leinster House around 9pm on Wednesday, long after the bells had ceased ringing, certain in the knowledge that he had made the right decision.
Generally, there was little political alarm triggered by his vote within Government.
Some whispered that "Barry can be difficult to manage", and that it was simply a "flexing of muscles".
But it did unquestionably show that those Independents, who occupy a liminal position within the Coalition, are perhaps a more fragile bloc of votes than first suspected.
This was further illustrated by the actions of Meath-East TD Gillian Toole.
Before 9pm she was on a bus back home to Ratoath having also voted against the Government on the Bill.
Regarded as a deep-thinker and a conscientious politician, Gillian Toole cited the lack of detailed briefings from the Government as an influence on her decision.
The two TDs are still aligned to the Coalition, their jump overboard is a temporary one, and the Government's majority is not shattered.
'Call out the narrative for what it is'
It is emblematic though of the growing pressure on the Government to accompany its increasingly strident rhetoric on Gaza with firm actions.
The acerbic exchange between the Tánaiste and Independent TD Catherine Connolly in the Dáil on Thursday morning typified the fractiousness which has built around this issue.
The Galway West TD made an impassioned call on Government to do more, saying: "It's time we led. Call out the narrative for what it is. Israel is a rogue state; it is not a democratic state. Stand up, stand up and account for what you're going to do."
In a charged atmosphere, Simon Harris accused her of expressing "vitriol and dislike for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil" and of refusing to acknowledge the major steps taken by the Government.
It all suggests that the Government will now be pursued relentlessly by protesters, the Opposition, and perhaps by some Independent TDs supporting the Coalition, to pass the Occupied Territories Bill quickly.
The Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart, has already singalled that it will sit throughout June to progress this legislation swiftly.
The speed of its passage through the Oireachtas after this committee work has concluded will be the measure of the Government's strong words on Gaza this week.