Draft occupied territories Bill not expected to cover banning trade in services, says Frances Black
Independent Senator Frances Black has said she expects draft Government legislation banning trade with illegally occupied Palestinian territories will not cover trade in services.
The Government has indicated it will publish draft legislation before the end of this month, but has indicated its legal advice is against extending this to trade in services and instead focusing on trade in goods.
Ms Black, who first published legislation seeking to curtail trade with the territories in 2018, also said she hopes to be called before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she will make the case for the legislation to cover services.
Tánaiste Simon Harris, who will bring the legislation to Cabinet next week, has indicated an openness to considering amendments on trade in services if they are brought forward during the legislative process.
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Mr Harris indicated earlier this week that the general scheme – an outline of the legislation – will go to Cabinet next week, which Taoiseach Micheál Martin reiterated at a meeting of his parliamentary party on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, the Tánaiste said the Bill 'just needs a little bit of final work from a legal point of view' before going to Cabinet next week.
Once that is published, it will be sent to the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee for pre-legislative scrutiny, a process which is expected to take around two to three weeks to complete.
'I don't think there'll be services in the general scheme, and that's where the debate will be in the Foreign Affairs committee, that's my expectation, that it won't be in,' Ms Black told The Irish Times on Wednesday.
She said that her hope was that legal experts whose view is that the inclusion of services is legal will be asked before the committee to give evidence.
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Government wants to pass Bill banning trade with occupied Palestinian territories 'this summer'
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The inclusion of services could potentially mean tech and finance companies which conduct business in the occupied territories. Earlier this week, five separate international legal challenges were launched against Airbnb, the short-term lettings platform, which pro-Palestinian and human rights activists say is currently managing more than 300 holiday lettings in the West Bank.
Elsewhere, Mr Harris told his parliamentary party meeting that the escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran cannot distract from the situation in Gaza, where he said children are starving and humanitarian aid is not getting through.
Mr Harris also told his TDs and Senators that the return of AIB to full private ownership is a 'milestone moment' and contrasted it with 2011 'when the entire banking sector was destroyed and the IMF were in town following reckless economic mismanagement'.
Mr Martin told the Fianna Fáil meeting that the Government would consider proposals next week arising from the Dublin City Taskforce report, which would include funding for key initiatives including a special-purpose vehicle to partner with site owners to 'transform' the O'Connell Street area.
He also welcomed the expansion of the rent pressure zones (RPZs) agreed by Cabinet last week and the granting of additional powers to the Land Development Agency, which got Government approval this week.
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