Mr. Joe O'Brien:

I will try to address most of the questions asked and my colleagues might pick up on responses I may have omitted.

On whether we have a campaign planned, one answer would be that this is part of it but we bounce the ball back in that regard because I am not sure how many resources it would take to make every citizen in Ireland aware of the various products on the shelves. It would take a lot.

We do not advocate that approach either because, while I know where the members are coming from, it reduces it to a consumer issue. This is not really a consumer issue but one of international humanitarian and human rights law. We really feel it is the Government’s responsibility to address it rather than depict it as a matter of which consumers should be aware. That said, I draw attention to our colleagues in Trócaire who are to launch a campaign soon on settlement products.

It is not our policy to advocate a boycott of all Israeli products. That would be detrimental to a settlement in the longer term and, at a practical level, we do not believe there would be support for it, certainly at EU level. I do not have the percentage to hand but the European Union is by far the largest trading partner with Israel and the illegal settlements.

We certainly acknowledge that addressing human rights abuses and human rights law across the board is not the sole responsibility of Israel. However, Israel is an established and well-resourced state so there is, therefore, some responsibility.