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RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Committee urges Govt to include services in OTB
A cross-party Oireachtas foreign affairs committee report on the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) "strongly recommends" services as well as goods should be included in any Government legislation. RTÉ News understands the committee agreed to make the key recommendation in a private meeting at Leinster House today, which is likely to continue until Friday afternoon. The committee has been tasked in recent weeks with drawing up a pre-legislative scrutiny report on the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill, which will include a series of non-binding recommendations that will subsequently be considered by Government. The question of whether the bill should be limited to goods from what it describes as the Occupied Territories or be extended to services as well has been a key subject of debate in recent weeks due to the potential economic impact such a move could cause. However, in a recommendation which will be included in the committee's report and was agreed by all parties, the committee has said: "The committee strongly recommends progressing the bill and the prohibition of imports from the Palestinian Occupied Territories should be extended to include trade in services, in line with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and the resolution which Ireland co-sponsored at the United Nations general assembly." The move is likely to place further pressure on Government to include services as well as goods in the Occupied Territories Bill, despite international warnings from the US administration last week over the potential economic consequences were Ireland to do so. In a statement to RTÉ News, Labour TD Duncan Smith said: "This is a welcome outcome from the committee and one I didn't think would happen when our work began as I feared Government members wouldn't support opposition calls to include services. "The fact we have this agreed recommendation with no dissent is a testament to the compelling evidence given by multiple witnesses as to why services must be included with goods. They cannot be separated. "The sends a strong message to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that he needs to expand the scope of this bill to include services. which is not only the wishes of this committee but, we believe, the popular wishes of the Irish people." Sinn Féin TD Donnacha Ó Laoghaire also said: "Including services is an important statement by the foreign affairs committee. The situation in Gaza is disgraceful and we need ot move decisively and quickly." The committee meeting is continuing this afternoon, with more than 60 other amendments not related to this key recommendation also being considered. On RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Wednesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin again confirmed the Occupied Territories Bill is likely to go before the Dáil and Seanad in early autumn.
The Sun
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Labour accused of paving way for China to extradite political opponents from UK amid £100k bounty scandal
LABOUR has been accused of plotting to restore an extradition deal which could let China deport its political opponents from the UK. Bounties of £100,000 are being offered to those who deliver Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners to the Chinese Embassy in London. 3 And Tories say proposed tweaks to the 2003 Extradition Act could see Chinese dissidents legally hauled back into the grip of the regime. Alicia Kearns, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, who raised the alarm, said in a letter: 'Why has the Government introduced cooperation with Hong Kong, and by extension, the Chinese Communist Party authorities? 'Has freedom and the rule of law been returned to Hong Kong - or have you decided these issues are no longer saleable alongside the 'reset' in relations between the UK and China? 'You will be aware of the repression faced by Hong Kong democracy activists living in the UK, including the recent campaign of bounties. 'What guarantees can you give that no Hong Konger, CCP critic or anyone targeted by the CCP will be extradited under the new arrangement? 'We would be grateful for some clarity on why extraditions are being relaunched.' Iain Duncan Smith said: 'This would be an absolutely dreadful kowtow to the Chinese. 'I don't know how much more this government can do to show what an absolutely pathetic supplicant it has become. 'They do not seem to understand that China is the single biggest threat to freedom in the world today. 'They are, yet again, bending the knee to a regime hell bent on destroying democracy.' Labour's Security Minister Dan Jarvis denied the move. China beams LASER at German military plane 'endangering personnel' on mission in WW3 flashpoint Red Sea 3
Irish Examiner
14-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Labour bill seeks to ban Central Bank from approving Israeli war bond sales
The Central Bank would be banned from preparing prospectuses for the sale of Israeli bonds under a Labour bill to be published this week. Labour's Duncan Smith will introduce his Occupying Power (Securities and Handling of Settlement Goods) Bill 2025 to the Dáil, which would stop the Central Bank from giving information on the sale of bonds from countries which are deemed to be occupying powers. The Central Bank last month came under mounting pressure to reject the prospectuses of Israeli bonds, which are largely being used to fund the country's war efforts in Gaza, though it has argued because Ireland's central bank is designated as the competent authority to approve prospectuses for Israeli bonds sold in the EU, it has no legal authority to do so. Third-country issuers of bonds must choose the central bank of a country within the EU as their home member state, a choice which is up to that country and not the chosen home member state. Before 2021, Britain was the EU home member state for Israel, but following its exit from the bloc, Ireland was chosen by Israel as the new home member state. The Central Bank of Ireland approved the first prospectuses for the bond issuance programme in 2021, with the currently approved prospectus due to expire on September 1, 2025. Mr Smith said he was not satisfied with the Government's rejection of a Social Democrats motion, supported by Sinn Féin, Labour, and People Before Profit-Solidarity, which also called on the coalition to advise the bank that "by acting as the enabling cog in Israel's fund-raising machine in the EU, it is putting the State at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide". "We're not satisfied with the minister's responses to this in the Dáil. We feel that there is a mechanism to ban this practice to stop us selling war bonds for an occupying power. With pre-legislative scrutiny of the Occupied Territories Bill nearing an end and recognition of Palestine, there is more we can do. "We can, through primary legislation, ban this practice and show more solidarity to the people of Palestine. We're going to keep the pressure on." In the bill's explanatory memorandum, it says the governor of the Central Bank Gabriel Makhlouf has told the Oireachtas finance committee the bank itself has no discretion in the matter and it could only refuse to approve a prospectus for the issue of Israeli bonds if there was a legal basis under either EU or national law. The bill would also seek to protect workers who refuse to handle goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements. The memo says "both Ireland and the European Union as a whole are agreed that Israeli civilian settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible". The bill would make dismissal of a staff member who refused to handle the goods an unfair act under employment law.
Irish Independent
02-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
New Labour bill would give workers paid time off for cancer screening appointments
The laws, being put forward by Dublin TD Duncan Smith on Thursday, will stop workers taking annual leave for hospital appointments to check for cancer. Mr Smith said spotting cancer early on 'can be lifesaving'. 'There's no need to have this grey area where some people are using their holiday entitlements or sick leave just to go to a screening appointment. Let's just take a common-sense approach and make it as easy as possible to get to,' he said. 'Labour's Health Screening Leave Bill will be introduced into the Dáil this Thursday. It'd be an easy win for Fine Gael to act and introduce this Bill and I'd urge the Minister to take it on board sooner rather than later. 'Every family in Ireland has been touched by cancer in some way. Early detection saves lives, and we cannot afford to wait. No more excuses, for any of us.' The TD said workers are 'so busy and stretched' that when a screening appointment letter comes through the door, 'their first instinct is to put it off'. The Organisation of Working Time (Leave for Health Screening Purposes) Bill 2025 would create a statutory entitlement to paid leave for employees to take part in health screening programmes. But health screening leave would only apply for workers who need time off work to attend a cervical, breast or colon cancer screening programme, provided by a medical practitioner because of the worker's age, gender and general health status. Earlier this year, the Government paused plans to hike sick leave for all employees by two extra days, from five days to seven. This decision was made due to fears over looming tariff increases imposed by US President Donal Trump on the EU. The Government believes hiking sick leave will make it more difficult for businesses to trade and be profitable, causing them to close and jobs being lost. Under the proposed Labour law, cancer screening will be added to periods that should be included when calculating continuity of service for redundancies. The Irish Cancer Society estimates around 40,000 people get cancer in Ireland each year, which includes cancers which spread and ones that do not. According to the charity, most recent research shows there are now more than 24,200 invasive cases of cancers which spread diagnosed each year.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Renewed political pressure to expand opposition to Israeli assault on Gaza
The Government is facing renewed political pressure to expand its legal and political opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza, even as it moved ahead with legislation banning trade with the Occupied Territories . Tánaiste Simon Harris secured Cabinet approval to begin drafting the legislation on Tuesday, saying he hoped other European Union countries would join Ireland in banning trade from the illegally occupied areas. But there was criticism of the pace with which the Bill is expected to proceed through the Oireachtas, as well as its scope. Labour Party TD Duncan Smith said he is 'utterly angered at the fact that it still seems it will be autumn at the earliest before it will be brought into law'. READ MORE He said it should be prioritised and the Committee on Foreign Affairs should 'sit as quickly and as often as is necessary to get it into the Dáil and through the Seanad and done before the summer recess'. Mr Harris's spokesman said the Tánaiste would be open to the Dáil continuing to sit during the summer recess to debate the Occupied Territories Bill, adding that he would be guided by the recommendation of the Oireachtas committee. The Coalition indicated on Tuesday that it was unlikely to include trade in services in its Bill, which is being sought by the Opposition and by Independent Senator Frances Black, who drafted the first Bill in the area seven years ago. A Government spokesman said it was not proposed to regulate trade in services 'at this time', arguing that the basis in EU law for such a move is 'much weaker than is the case in the field of goods trade'. The Coalition said it will take into account recommendations on this front that arise during prelegislative scrutiny. Ms Black said the decision today by Government is a 'really important and welcome step, but our work is not done yet'. 'We need to see a full ban on all trade with the illegal Israeli settlements, which includes both physical goods like fruit and veg, but also intangible services like tech and IT,' she said. Opposition parties are also pursuing other avenues to increase pressure on the Government to act, with left-wing parties due to combine in support of a Sinn Féin Bill yesterday evening that would restrict the sale of Israeli government bonds through the Irish financial system. Sinn Féin has cited advice given to it by legal advisers to the Oireachtas which suggested such a move could be possible with the appropriate safeguards in place. However, ahead of a debate on the motion scheduled for Tuesday evening, the Government dismissed the move, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin describing it as 'completely unworkable' and incompatible with EU law. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald rejected this analysis as 'utterly cynical and bogus'. The Government says Israeli bonds are not listed on the Irish Stock Exchange nor available to purchase through any regulated entity in the State. 'The Bill is asking for an activity that does not take place here to be terminated,' a Coalition spokesman said, adding that preliminary advice from the Attorney General suggests 'key provisions may be unworkable and may conflict with EU treaties and our obligations as a member state'. 'Importantly, this Bill does not prevent Israel from raising money by selling bonds.' The Labour Party , meanwhile, is preparing a motion for next week to mandate the Taoiseach to move a motion at the UN seeking an international peacekeeping force for Gaza. The Coalition has indicated it will not oppose the motion, with a spokesman saying it welcomes the approach 'as one that favours multilateralism, and the pursuit of peace and security', adding that the 'urgency of the need for peace could not be clearer'.
