John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have two points to make. The first is on the fear the Government might drag its feet on the progression of this legislation. Unfortunately, we have witnessed attempts to stall, stymie and block this Bill. We saw it first with the nine-month delaying amendment the Government put on it, which has passed. We have seen attempt after attempt to deny this committee its right to waive pre-legislative scrutiny, PLS. We have seen that scuppered at the behest of the Government. I thank the committee for standing firm on its position to try to advance this legislation to ensure PLS can take place as quickly as possible given the real importance of this legislation.

The second point is on the double standards. Unfortunately, we are seeing double standards at play and it has been called out by many in the Oireachtas. However, this has not included the Government. We have seen how quick it was to respond with sanction after sanction on Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have not seen the same level of interest or action being taken with the ongoing illegal actions of the Israeli state. All we get is condemnation and rhetoric with no affirmative action being taken. It is quite interesting that one action the Government is looking at taking, which it has been speaking about over the past while, is action against some illegal settlers. I find it quite amusing that some settlers are the problem. The problem here is the settlements that are being aided and abetted by the Israeli Government. The settlers are only there because they have been facilitated and funded, partially through Irish taxpayers' money, so the key issue here is the 144 settlements and that is where the action needs to be taken. They are illegal under international law and that is not up for dispute. It is accepted, and Mr. Meehan alluded to the Rome Statute and other international laws Israel is in breach of. We need action on dismantling the illegal settlements and that is why the double standards are quite stark. If the Government looks to put sanctions on some settlers without withdrawing or divesting its shareholdings in the businesses that make those very settlements sustainable into the future, it is absolutely meaningless.