Mr. Hugh Lovatt:

I can make a general comment and speculate as to one reason. It is clear that the Israeli Government has exerted considerable political effort, in partnership with some Israeli right-wing civil society organisations, to delegitimise the database by depicting it as a blacklist, which it is not, or by depicting it as BDS, which it is not and by levelling accusations at it and at the proponents of it as variously supporting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel actions and so on. That has created a political climate in which many governments are reluctant to wade too deeply into this for fear of exposing themselves to what has become a politically divisive conversation, which it is not. It should be clear why this is so. Nevertheless, that is the result of Israeli efforts to make this a divisive issue.

To go back to the point I made earlier, there is also a fear that we have seen echoed on other actions, whether it is recognising Palestine or banning settlement products, that this is harmful to the prospect of peace negotiations and that somehow this undercuts the prospects of peace. We need to take a step back and appreciate the political context in which there is no prospect of meaningful negotiations at the moment. Those are two issues but I will reserve judgment on the Irish Government's motivations for someone else.