Fianna Fáil councillors in Clare defy Government counterparts with motion seeking to prevent the funding of Israeli war bonds
Fianna Fáil county councillors in Clare have united in submitting a motion to the Clare County Council showing support for Palestine.
At the June sitting of Clare County Council, Councillors Pat Hayes, Clare Colleran Molloy, David Griffin, Antoinette Baker Bashua, Rachel Hartigan, Rita McInerney, and Patrick O'Gorman sought a united stance from Clare County Council to 'call on the Ministers for Finance and Foreign Affairs to investigate and instigate appropriate actions that can be taken at National and European level to prevent the funding of Israeli war bonds'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
23 minutes ago
- The Journal
Palestinian state should be established in 'a Muslim country', US ambassador Mike Huckabee says
THE US AMBASSADOR to Israel has said that any Palestinian state should be established in 'a Muslim country' as he rejected the notion of US support for a two-state solution. Mike Huckabee, a former Fox News host and ex-governor of Arkansas who ran against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, was speaking ahead of a UN conference in New York next week. The conference will be co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia and will focus on a framework for establishing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution. Huckabee appeared to confirm a US foreign policy reversal with regard to support for a two-state solution in an interview with Bloomberg News . In response to a question about whether a two-state solution remained a goal of the White House, Huckabee replied: 'I don't think so.' He went on to say that if Palestine was to set up its own state, it could do so in 'a Muslim country' outside of Israel's modern borders, despite Palestine having previously existed on the land of modern Israel before the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948. Advertisement In a separate interview with the BBC , Huckabee said: 'Muslim countries have 644 times the amount of land that are controlled by Israel. So maybe, if there is such a desire for the Palestinian state, there would be someone who would say, we'd like to host it.' The two-state solution, traditionally backed by most UN member states including the US, proposes resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing two states for two peoples – Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinians. 'Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there's no room for it,' Huckabee said, claiming these probably won't happen 'in our lifetime'. French President Emmanuel Macron had hinted at recognising Palestine while at next week's conference, an action that Huckabee reacted angrily to. He said that if Macron supported such an outcome, he could 'carve out a piece of the French Riviera' and create a state for Palestine there. The US has been steadfast in its opposition to the conference, threatening countries who take part in any 'anti-Israel actions' via a formal statement issued on Tuesday. 'The United States opposes any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,' it said. It added: 'Unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state would effectively render Oct. 7 Palestinian Independence Day.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
EU lawmakers propose further easing of corporate sustainability rules amid backlash
The European Union should further slash the number of companies subject to its environmental and corporate sustainability rules, the European Parliament member leading negotiations on the policies said on Thursday. The European Commission proposed a "simplification omnibus" in February that it said would help European firms compete with foreign rivals by cutting back on sustainability reporting rules and obligations intended to root out abuses in their supply chains. Those proposals did not go far enough, according to Swedish centre-right lawmaker Jörgen Warborn, who has drafted amendments to scale back the laws further to only cover companies with 3,000 employees or more and over €450m in turnover. The commission proposal would exempt companies with fewer than 1,000 employees - already cutting out more than 80% of the roughly 50,000 companies currently covered by the green reporting rules. The EU counts around 6,000 companies with more than 1,000 employees. "Europe is falling behind the US and China in the global race for competitiveness. I'm entering this process with a clear ambition: to cut costs for businesses and go further than the commission on simplification," Warborn said in a statement on Thursday. His draft proposal must be negotiated in the European Parliament where other lawmakers can propose their own amendments. The Parliament will agree the final changes with EU member countries in the coming months. Warborn, a member of the centre-right European People's Party lawmaker group, is facing competing calls from some right-wing lawmakers to scrap the policies entirely, and Socialist and Green lawmakers vowing to preserve them. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have both demanded the EU scrap the supply chain law. But the walk-back on ESG rules has met resistance from some investors and campaigners, who have warned it weakens corporate accountability and hurts the bloc's ability to attract more investments towards meeting climate goals. Warborn said his proposed changes will not weaken Europe's sustainability standards, but rather free up resources that companies can instead invest in innovation. Reuters
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Defence Forces taking part in EU missions without triple lock 'could breach neutrality'
Ireland's Defence Forces could become embroiled in peacekeeping missions that could jeopardise Ireland's military neutrality if Government proposals to scrap UN authorisation for such deployments is passed, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Ray Murphy, a professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway, said if Ireland took part in an EU force without a UN mandate — with the monitoring and controls coming with that — it could end up in situations not originally envisaged that would end up breaching our neutrality. Prof Murphy was one of three academics who took part in a three-hour session at the Oireachtas defence and national security committee, which is holding hearings on the Defence Bill 2025. The draft legislation proposes to remove the requirement for UN approval to send Defence Forces abroad. It also plans to increase from 12 to 50 the number of personnel that can be sent overseas without the Government needing the support of the Dáil. Defence Bill 2025 The bill would authorise Irish troops to take part in an 'international force' for the purposes of peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and international security 'consistent with the principles of the United Nations charter'. Examples of such bodies include the OSCE, the EU, or 'any other body' that operates in manner consistent with UN principles. All three academics at the committee are strongly opposed to the Government proposals to remove the 'triple lock'. It is not clear if the committee is due to hear from academics who are non-committed on the issue or who are in favour of removing the triple lock. Prof Murphy said: 'Any deployment of Defence Forces with an international force will be subject to certain mandatory principles. These are that the particular international force will be mandated to operate for peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and/or strengthening international security, in accordance with international law and consistent with the principles of the UN.' He asked who would determine if a regional body 'operates in a manner consistent' with the UN charter and international law, especially if Security Council or General Assembly approval is not obtained. Situations on the ground 'can change' Prof Murphy said situations on the ground can change and that Irish troops 'could become embroiled in something' that wasn't originally envisaged — and that such a situation could 'certainly jeopardise' military neutrality. He described the proposals as a 'betrayal' to commitments made by governments to its citizens and that they would grant any government 'excessive authority'. Karen Devine, lecturer in European politics at DCU, told the committee that as an academic her job is to 'tell the truth'. She said public support for neutrality has been consistent over the decades, with four in five people in favour of it. She alleged that 'militarists', consisting of the EU, Nato, and the military-industrial complex, 'seek to eradicate' Irish neutrality including the triple lock and want to 'militarise' the EU. She further alleged that these were joined by 'university agents', (professors she effectively identified), think tanks, and the 'mass media', who promoted this agenda.
