12 hours ago
Draft Occupied Territories Bill published with no reference to services being banned
The 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.
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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.
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 complete pre-legislative scrutiny before the summer recess.
In an accompanying letter to the committee, Mr Harris said the scheme delivers on the commitment in the programme for government 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.'
It is expected that Mr Harris will be invited to appear before the foreign affairs committee.
The Tánaiste's spokesman said this week that it is not usual for ministers to participate in pre-legislative debates but that Mr Harris did not have an objection in principle in appearing.
The issue that will be most contentious during the committee's deliberations will be the question of whether or not services should be included in the legislation. 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 current legal advice form the Department of Foreign Affairs is that under EU law it would not be permissible to include services.
However, Mr Harris has now sought an opinion from the Attorney General Rossa Fanning to decide if 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.
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 by the summer recess, allowing for the full Bill to be published in early autumn.
'John Lahart has said he will do the process as quickly as possible and has already arranged for extra sessions.
'He has essentially said that he will clear the desks so that we can present it back before the summer break,' she said.
The average time for committees to complete pre-legislative scrutiny is eight weeks but it is understood the committee is of the view it can be done in a much shorter period.
Separately, Ms Black has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the Presidential election.
She said that she was now 99 per cent sure she would not be a candidate and said that 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.
'I am honoured that my name has been mentioned and has been put in the mix. While I am still open to talk about it I am 99 per cent sure that I am not running,' she said.
