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RTÉ News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Occupied Territories Bill unlikely to fall despite Oireachtas meeting
When the Occupied Territories Bill has been debated in the Oireachtas recently, it's usually framed in the context of the Opposition parties putting pressure on the Government to go further and faster with its proposed legislation. The Bill should include a ban on services as well as goods, the Opposition argues, and the Dáil and Seanad should sit in August to get the legislation passed into law as quickly as possible. Yesterday it was very different. That is because delegates from the Ireland Israel Alliance were before the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, along with some representatives of Ireland's Jewish community. They wanted to give all political parties - Coalition and Opposition - a piece of their mind. There was a slight degree of apprehension as everyone took their seats in Committee room 2, and so Chairperson John Lahart took the opportunity to say at the outset that while there are "strongly held views" on the Bill, every participant should be treated with respect. He also urged those in the public gallery not to interrupt. The first to speak was Maurice Cohen, who is Chair of Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. He declared: "I speak as an Irish citizen, born and raised here in Dublin," adding that the "small, long established Irish Jewish community" in Ireland "is now increasingly fearful". Part of that fear he said was down to the Occupied Territories Bill. Mr Cohen declared: "While this Bill may not set out to target Jews or Jewish life, its message is unmistakably felt by us." He continued: "Let me clear: criticism of Israel is not antisemitism, but when criticism becomes a campaign... we must pause." "This Bill is not a plan for peace. It is not a policy. It is a performance of misguided effort." "It won't bring two states closer, but it might drive Jewish communities here in Ireland further into fear and isolation," he warned. Mr Cohen was followed by the former Fine Gael Minister Alan Shatter who was more combative in the language he used. He claimed the Bill is the "first initiative of any European government to enact legislation to intentionally boycott and discriminate against Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945." "This antisemitic symbolism is reinforced by the absence from the Bill of any prohibition on the importation of goods originating from any other occupied territory'", he said. That was a theme which was continually raised during the Committee's hearing - only Israel was being targeted by the planned legislation. The Oireachtas was not going after Hamas which had triggered the latest conflict by killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others on 7 October 2023. The Oireachtas was also not going after Iran which had financed Hamas in Gaza, and other entities like Hezbollah in Lebanon. That is why Yoni Wieder, Chief Rabbi at the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, suggested the Bill "demonises Israel". The original Occupied Territories Bill which was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018 didn't contain that distinction. It only said:"Illegal settler means a member of the civilian population of an occupying power who was or is present within the relevant occupied territory and whose presence is being, or has been, facilitated directly or indirectly, by the occupying power." In his opening statement, Alan Shatter claimed the Government's revised legislation - the Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Bill - is "essentially a sectarian measure based on falsehoods, riddled with obscurity and anomalies". One of the guests appeared via video link from London - Natasha Hausdorff, Legal Director of the UK Lawyers For Israel. She too zoned in on this issue, arguing: "This version of the Bill now abandons all pretence of going after so-called occupied territories and targets Israel explicitly." Ms Hausdorff also predicted that it could trigger a departure of US companies from Ireland due to "longstanding US anti-boycott legislation" which would pose grave risks for such firms continuing to trade in Ireland." When the moment came for engagement between the Committee members and their invited guests, a time limit came into play. Each TD and Senator had a total of 4 minutes to ask questions and for the invited guest to reply. The Independent Senator Alice Mary Higgins pushed back against the anti-Israeli narrative which had been directed against Ireland in the opening statements. She told the Committee that the Taoiseach Micheál Martin had repeatedly clarified that this is "not a boycott of Israel". "It does not affect Israeli goods," she said. "It only affects the settlements." She asked if the guests accepted that the settlements built in the West Bank are "illegal settlements". "Do you believe that they are part of Israel?" she inquired. That was followed-up by Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire Bary Ward who asked all the witnesses if they accept that "Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory are contrary to International Law." Deputy Ward asked for a yes or a no. Maurice Cohen said he would not be forced into single word answers. "I don't have a yes or a no because there isn't one," said Alan Shatter. He added he "does not accept" that the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank are illegally occupied land. Natasha Hausdorff said: "One cannot occupy what is one's sovereign territory." The exchanges were pointed, but not more than that. Later, Labour's Duncan Smith said all the witnesses had failed to recognise that the settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal. "That's a fundamental point of divergence," he said, and contrary to international law. The only time that the tone of the debate frayed was after Mr Shatter claimed the Bill was a token gesture and akin to an episode of "Father Ted". The Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan recounted how he'd recently visited Cairo and met Palestinians from Gaza. He sat on the bed of a young man in the prime of his life who was dying, and held the hand "of a two year child that had bullet wounds". Responding to Mr Shatter's claim that the Occupied Territories Bill was nothing more than performance politics and a token gesture, Deputy Brennan said robustly: "How dare you come in here and make such statements!" Having referenced that he'd visited Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on countless occasions, Mr Shatter replied: "I don't think a single visit, deputy, to Egypt is the be-all and end-all to resolving the conflict. And this Bill certainly won't resolve the conflict.". Barrister Natasha Hausdorff went further and said the Bill was "succour to Hamas" and "antisemitic". That drew a something of a rebuke from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart. He said a claim of antisemitism being levelled against TDs and Senators was hugely hurtful and slanderous. "It is the descent by the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces into the darkest of places that certainly motivates - as far as I can see - all members of this Committee, from a humanitarian perspective." He added: "There isn't an antisemite in this room. There isn't an antisemite in the Dáil." Deputy Lahart said he believed Mr Shatter was "influential" and he urged him "to take that on board", including when dealing with those in the US establishment. Whatever about that request, Mr Shatter did not concede an inch of the Occupied Territories Bill. He maintained that Palestinian supporters of the Bill were being "fooled and misled" about it having any impact, and that resulted from the fact that "critical faculties are suspended" at Leinster House. In keeping with the Committee's broad approach, Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire sought to find some common position with the guests. The Cork South Central TD said the Jewish community in Ireland should feel welcome and a full part of Irish society. He added it is not right to put the responsibility of the actions of Israel's government on individual Jewish people. Deputy Ó Laoghaire then asked Alan Shatter if he accepted that Ireland is bound by international law and compelled to act. Mr Shatter said he studied international law but claimed that it has been "politicised and weaponised and distorted in political debate". The former Fine Gael minister maintained he believed that Ireland could play a real role to try and bring Israelis and Palestinians together. But that would require an even hand and, by extension, the Occupied Territories Bill would have to fall. The mood of the Committee suggested such a development was highly unlikely to happen.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Zero sum recorded for services traded between Ireland and illegal Israeli settlements in 2023
A sum of 'zero' was recorded for services between Ireland and illegal Israeli settlements in 2023, the Oireachtas committee scrutinising the draft legislation to ban trade from them has heard. The total figure for goods imported into Ireland from the settlements in the occupied territories in 2024 was €214,000, senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs told the committee. However, when it came to services, the department's political director, Gerard Keown said there were no reliable figures and the latest available, for 2023, was zero. He and his colleague, Declan Smyth, the department's legal adviser, said that services could be traded on the internet and by email and were very difficult to monitor and quantify. READ MORE In contrast, any goods from the occupied territories had to be presented to Irish customs before entry. Most imports from the settlements into Ireland are fruit and vegetables. The officials were attending a meeting of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee which is carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025. The draft legislation proposes to ban goods imported from the region but not services. Chairman John Lahart said there was broad agreement across all parties that services should be included in the Bill. [ Despite the politics, Ireland is Israel's second-biggest export market for goods Opens in new window ] Mr Smyth outlined several times that while services are not included in the Bill at present, the Attorney General Rossa Fanning has been asked to give legal advice to the Government on incorporating this category into the Bill. Asked when that decision would be made, both officials said the Attorney General and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris were both very aware the issue was now before the committee. Mr Keown said the Tánaiste would act 'expeditiously' on the matter once the advice was received. Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Fianna Fáil) said the volume of goods and services being traded was not the important issue. 'If the value was only €10, the symbolic value of the legislation is still enormous,' he said. It was 'frustrating' that the committee was discussing the Bill without having the opinion of the Attorney General on services, he added. Sinéad Gibney (Social Democrats) said she was surprised at the zero sum for services given that properties in the illegal settlements are let on Airbnb. Mr Keown said they were difficult to quantify. 'Services are intangible. We do not have an accurate picture,' he said. Mr Smyth told the committee that external trade with territories outside the EU was the exclusive competence of the union and not of member states. He said that there were some 'public policy exceptions' in EU regulation on the imports of goods that did give member states leeway to prohibit the import of goods. A country like Ireland could do so on public policy grounds. However, he said there was no such specific EU legislation that the department's legal advisers could find that would allow Ireland act in a similar fashion with services. The Bill is influenced by a judgment by the International Court of Justice on trade from illegal settlements. Mr Smyth agreed with Senator Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats), Senator Alice Mary Higgins (Ind) and TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Sinn Féin) that the judgment referred to both goods and services. However, when asked whether international law trumps EU law, Mr Smyth replied that both had to be reconciled. The committee was told that several countries have contacted the department to inquire about the Bill. Shay Brennan of Fianna Fáil, asked Mr Keown had any countries 'pushed back' against it. 'There has been contact at official level from the United States around this, under the previous (Biden) administration to inquire about the intentions around this legislation', Mr Keown said. Michael McDowell said the EU laws were 'devoid of common sense'. He said a state can block goods or services from another EU state but cannot block goods or services from a state outside the EU. Senator Frances Black, who drafted the original Bill, said she was confident services could be included. 'I am 100 per cent certain that we can get the wording right. I believe there are no legal barriers to it,' she said.
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
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. READ MORE 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.
Irish Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Government wants to pass Bill banning trade with occupied Palestinian territories ‘this summer'
The Government wants to pass new laws banning trade with illegally occupied territories in Palestine 'this summer', Minister of State Thomas Byrne has said. The timeline for passage of the Bill , which is being drafted, has been the subject of much political scrutiny amid Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza . Speaking on RTÉ's Week in Politics programme on Sunday, Meath East TD Mr Byrne echoed comments made by his party colleague and chair of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee John Lahart. 'We want to see it passed before the summer,' he said. However, he said the Opposition would put down 'amendment after amendment' to the legislation 'designed to push the boat out, designed to get something that can't be done'. READ MORE 'I certainly hope to have it done this summer, we want to do it,' Mr Byrne said. The draft legislation, once approved by the Cabinet, must then be sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee where it will begin the process of pre-legislative scrutiny. The Government has been cautious about the idea of including trade in services and trade in goods in the legislation, arguing its legal advice is that this would be problematic. Speaking on the same programme, Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore reiterated her party's call for the Dáil to sit over the summer if required. The lower house is due to take its summer break in mid-July, meaning the standard timeline for passing any new law restricting trade is extremely limited. Mr Byrne was critical of Dáil motions last week seeking to ban the Irish Central Bank from its role in approving Israeli government bonds, which followed a similar Sinn Féin motion in recent weeks. He said the party is seeking to 'tear apart the Government, increase division in the country, and try and use this to give political advantage for themselves'. Ms Whitmore indicated the Opposition will bring the issue back to the floor of the Dáil soon.
RTÉ News
01-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Committee chair wants OTB passed by 'summer recess'
The chair of the Oireachtas committee which will examine the Government version of the Occupied Territories Bill has said he wants to see it passed into law "by the summer recess". Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart also said he wants to see services from what the bill describes as the occupied territories included, but said both issues are dependent on the views of all committee members and whether they receive the necessary information in time. Speaking with RTÉ News, the chair of the Oireachtas committee on foreign affairs said the cross-party group will receive the heads of the bill of the potential legislation once it is drawn up by the Department of Foreign Affairs and signed off on by the Cabinet. Asked if he believes this will give the committee enough time to examine the bill in a process known as pre-legislative scrutiny, and for the Dáil and Seanad to pass the bill by the Oireachtas summer recess which begins on 18 July, Mr Lahart said he believes it does. "I think it's very possible [for the bill to pass through the committee in June before being sent to the Dail and Seanad]. I have begun a series of conversations with the members of the committee and I think everybody's very keen and very anxious to expedite the bill as quickly as possible. "If we can process it, it depends on how quickly we can get the information we need, but put it this way - the foreign affairs committee and me as chair will ensure we will do our best to ensure the bill is processed as quickly as possible and hopefully before the summer recess. "I want to see it passed by the summer recess," he said. Asked about whether services from the occupied territories should also be included in the bill alongside goods - an issue which is continuing to cause political and legal division over whether doing so would leave the potential law open to a legal challenge - Mr Lahart said it should and said "I support the inclusion of services in the bill". "Clearly I'm at the mercy of the members of the committee. But, again, I think there's support for this. "My sense is they're [the members] all supportive of services being in the bill as well," he said. The foreign affairs committee is made up of nine TDs and five senators. Of the nine TDs, three are from Fianna Fáil, John Lahart, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and Shay Brennan, two from Fine Gael, Brian Brennan and Noel McCarthy, two from Sinn Féin, Cathy Bennett, and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, one from Labour, Duncan Smith, and one from Independent Ireland, Ken O Flynn. Of the five senators, two are from Fine Gael, Garret Ahearn and Joe O'Reilly, one from Fianna Fáil, Fiona O'Loughlin, one from the Social Democrats, Patricia Stephenson, and an independent senator Alice Mary Higgins.
