Mr. Éamonn Meehan:

In relation to services, the committee has had a considerable amount of input from legal experts on this and I will not be able to address the issue to the same level of detail. However, in our research, we are very clear that there is no distinction in trade between goods and services. When the International Court of Justice discussed trade with the occupied Palestinian territory, it did not distinguish goods and services and divide them. The concept of trade is a unitary concept.

It is also clear, in terms of services, that if the Bill bans goods only, a significant amount of trade with illegal settlements will continue and will fall under the label of services. The committee received evidence previously about the ability of Irish citizens to engage with properties, owned by Palestinians and taken by Israeli settlers, which are available to rent and for which people who rent those properties will receive documentation and a receipt from a company headquartered here in Dublin. It seems to me that we would be leaving a very big hole in the legislation if it confined itself to goods only.