Tánaiste to include services from Israeli settlements in trade ban
Simon Harris has vowed to include the provision of services to legislation that will ban imports from Israeli settlements if it stands up to legislative scrutiny. He was speaking during a visit to the site of new cost-rental apartments in Tallaght.
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
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Exclusion of services from OTB 'worrying'
Independent Senator Frances Black has said it is "worrying" that services are not included in the draft Occupied Territories Bill and it is "absolutely crucial" that they should be. The draft of the 'Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025' was published today by Tánaiste Simon Harris. It makes no reference to services being subject to a similar goods ban and has been criticised in the Dáil by opposition parties including Sinn Féin, Labour and the Social Democrats. The Tánaiste insists he is willing to consider the inclusion of services in the bill and has sought the Attorney General's advice on this matter. Independent Senator Frances Black has been closely associated with the bill since first tabling proposed legislation in 2018, and has continued to campaign on the subject and has held meetings with Mr Harris on the Government bill. Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Senator Black said Simon Harris had committed to her and in public that the Government is "willing to include services in the final bill if we can get the legal detail right". She said she was "100% certain" that services will end up in the final bill "if we get this detail" right and she "fully intends on holding him to that promise". "Last year, the International Court of very clearly that the Israeli settlements are illegal, and that all countries must end trade with all of them - and all trade, full stop. "That means both physical goods, like dates and oranges, but also services like tech and IT. "That is the standard that the Government needs to meet," Senator Black said. Meanwhile, Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson said the Government has "yet to provide a credible reason for omitting services from the bill". Ms Stephenson said the Tánaiste "continues to cite vague legal reasons for omitting a services ban" and added that her party has received legal advice saying that the inclusion of services is not only legal but also a "duty to do so in accordance with the ruling from the International Court of Justice". "The vast majority of Ireland's trade with the occupied territories is in the form of services - legislating for goods alone is not a sufficient sanction of the Israeli government's barbaric actions. "We need to see this Bill enacted in the form put forward by Senator Francis Black as a matter of urgency, even if this means working through the summer to do so," Ms Stephenson said. Speaking upon the publication of the general scheme of the bill, the Tánaiste said he has made it clear that the Government will use "all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground" in Gaza. "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-State solution. "This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. "Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law. "I have been absolutely clear that we have yet to see an adequate response at EU level to the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, notably as regards trade with Israeli settlements," Mr Harris said in a statement.
Irish Times
an hour ago
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EU's splintered stance on Gaza crisis a ‘huge stain' on bloc, says Taoiseach
The European Union's inability to come to a unified position on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a 'huge stain' on the bloc, the Taoiseach has said. Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Micheál Martin said there has to be 'consequences' for Israel's human rights violations during its 20-month bombardment and invasion of Gaza. 'Europe needs to speak with a very strong voice, to end this blockade and get vital humanitarian aid into the population of Gaza, otherwise Europe will not have credibility,' he said. The Fianna Fáil leader was speaking ahead of an EU summit on Thursday where leaders will consider a report by the bloc's diplomatic service from last week that said Israel had breached its human rights obligations under the terms of a pact governing its ties with the EU. Israel's foreign ministry has rejected the report as a 'moral and methodological failure'. READ MORE Meanwhile, the Irish Government has published draft legislation to prohibit the sale in Ireland of Israeli goods produced in the occupied Palestinian territories . It makes no reference to services being subject to a similar ban. The draft of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025 was published on Wednesday by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris. The draft will now be sent for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart. The main section of the Bill provides that the importation of goods originating in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will be prohibited in Ireland. The goods will be deemed as goods subject to prohibition, or banned from importation, and those importing them may be charged with an offence under the Customs Act 2015. The draft Bill also sets out that the Minister for Foreign Affairs will have the powers to outline what territories are covered by the Act. [ 'Groundbreaking' case over Airbnb lettings in West Bank will set precedent for Irish companies, says Senator Opens in new window ] The Minister will have the power to prescribe the postal codes of Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The committee is expected to begin its work on the draft legislation immediately. Mr Lahart has said he will seek extra sitting sessions to allow it to complete pre-legislative scrutiny before the summer recess. In an accompanying letter to the committee, Mr Harris said the scheme delivers on Government commitments but notes the limitations under EU law. 'The scheme has been prepared having regard to the exclusive competence of the European Union in the field of external trade and the very limited basis on which an EU member state may adopt measures in that field.' The issue that will be most contentious during the foreign affairs committee's deliberations about the Bill will be whether or not services should be included. For example, there is a substantial holiday-let sector in the settlements which would not be captured in the current draft Bill. On Tuesday, Mr Harris's spokesman said the legal advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs is that under EU law would not allow services to be included. However, Mr Harris has now sought an opinion from Attorney General Rossa Fanning on whether, under EU law, it would be permissible for any of the EU states to do that. The Government has said it has no objection to services being included, but noted the inclusion of services might make the legislation run contrary to EU law. [ Occupied Territories Bill: what's in it, how it has changed and what the implications might be Opens in new window ] Senator Frances Black drafted the original Bill in 2018 and has campaigned for it to become law since then. She said on Wednesday she was confident the committee will have completed its work before the summer recess, allowing for the full Bill to be published in early autumn. Senator Frances Black drafted the original occupied Palestinian territories Bill in 2018 and has campaigned for it to become law since then. Photograph: Garry Walsh/Trócaire Separately, Ms Black has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the presidential election. She said she was now 99 per cent sure she would not be a candidate, and said no party, or person, had approached her with a view to asking her to run. 'I am still open to that conversation but I am at this point so preoccupied with the occupied territories Bill that I do not have time to think about other issues,' she said.
