Occupied Territories Bill and Gaza
Deputy Sheehan says IBEC is trying to weaken the occupied territories Bill and urges sanctions on Israel. The Tánaiste defends the Government’s approach, stresses respectful engagement, and says Ireland’s position on the Bill remains clear.
I too thank the staff and wish everyone well for the summer break. It is very clear that IBEC is trying to manipulate the Government to exclude services from the occupied territories Bill. We have had more than 21 months of genocide. The EU is now saying that it will keep a "close watch" on Israel, so a close watch on genocide. The EU is worse than useless. At the same time, the EU said that member states should consider the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice in the context of trade with the occupied territories. It is very clear that we need sanctions now. We should not bow to domestic or international pressure on this. The fact that Mike Huckabee, a horrible racist, accused the Irish of falling into a vat of Guinness makes me more resolute that we are doing the right thing. I ask the Tánaiste to make it clear that the Government will not capitulate on the inclusion of services in the occupied territories Bill and that we can come back here and sit in August to finally pass this legislation.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I had a very constructive meeting with the US ambassador to Ireland this week. We discussed a variety of issues and I welcomed the opportunity to talk to him about the Irish people's very strong, almost guttural, view of the horror of what is happening in Gaza. I thank him for that respectful engagement. It is always important to have respectful engagement. Some of the language used by others, which the Deputy referenced, does not help the debate or discussion on policy in any way.
The Government's position on the occupied territories Bill is as I have stated it on many occasions. I thank the foreign affairs committee for the good scrutiny it has done on it. It is important that the committee hears all views. It is important that any decisions the Oireachtas takes are done with our eyes wide open and having scrutinised and considered all aspects of the Bill. A variety of people have appeared before the committee, some I absolutely agree with and some I do not. The Deputy can probably guess who those are. It is important to have had that engagement. I expect to get advice from the Attorney General over the course of the summer recess, receive the report from the committee and then advise Government on the next steps. I am happy to work constructively with the Opposition once I have received both of those.