Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 5 November 2024
Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence
Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Discussion
4:55 pm
Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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Just to clear up something the Tánaiste said previously, I do not think anybody around the committee believes amendments could be brought today and passed over two days. That was not the suggestion. The suggestion was, and the frustration stems from the fact that, the Department had time previous to this where it could have been developing the amendments and it did not. It seems like the departmental staff now has a good handle on what sort of amendments could be brought forward. If there is still time, it is important. I presume the Tánaiste has been working on this since October. We have had the intervention in the ICJ since July. I do not believe for a second that two days would have been enough allocated to this but I have confidence in the Department officials that they have given this the regard it deserves. With the good framing the Tánaiste has outlined, perhaps there is still the opportunity to bring the amendments to some parts so that we could advance the Bill before the Dáil folds. That is really important. I do not think anyone gave the impression that this would stop not the war but the annihilation that is being inflicted upon the people of Gaza. What it does do and where it is important is that it demonstrates consequence, and that is something that would take action.