Mr. Gerard Keown:

I am political director in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am joined by the Department’s legal adviser, Mr. Declan Smyth. We welcome the opportunity to engage with the committee during its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill 2025, the general scheme for which was approved by Government this day last week. The Bill, if enacted, will deliver on the commitment in the programme for Government to progress legislation prohibiting the import of goods from the settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, following the International Court of Justice's, ICJ, advisory opinion. This is a matter of considerable interest in both Houses of the Oireachtas and to the Irish public as a whole. As the Tánaiste said in the Dáil, the Government is committed to delivering on this commitment. The programme for Government also sets out a commitment to pursue appropriate action at European Union level.

Before coming to the general scheme of the Bill, I note at the outset that the Government’s view is that an optimal policy scenario would be appropriate action at EU level. This has been, and continues to be, a focus for engagement. The Tánaiste regrets that action at EU level has not yet been possible and that, in the circumstances, it has been necessary to move ahead of EU partners on a matter of such importance. The Tánaiste does, however, welcome that a growing number of EU partners share Ireland’s perspective that the European Commission needs to take concrete action to ensure that the EU’s approach to trade with Israeli settlements is compliant with international law. This was made clear in a letter addressed to the High Representative and the European Commission by the Tánaiste and eight of his EU counterparts on Thursday, 19 June. The Tánaiste also reiterated this point at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 23 June. The Tánaiste will continue to press for follow-up action at EU level as a matter of urgency. Pending an adequate response at EU level, the Government has been prepared to advance measures at a national level.

This Bill is intended to make provision in domestic law for the obligation on Ireland and all states to take steps to prevent trade relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory an obligation identified by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024.

The main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Any such importation will thereby become an offence under the Customs Act 2015, and the prohibition created by the Bill will also then engage the customs powers under that Act, including those relating to search, seizure and forfeiture.

The scheme proposes to use the Israeli settlement postal code system currently employed by the European Union in differentiating Israeli goods from settlement goods in order to identify goods of settlement origin for the purposes of the new Bill. Under the scheme, these postal codes will be prescribed by way of statutory instrument to be made under the Bill by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, following consultation with the Minister for Finance. The scheme has been prepared having regard to the exclusive competence of the European Union in the field of external trade and the very limited basis on which an EU member state may adopt measures in that field.

We look forward to engaging with the committee in further detail on the general scheme. The Tánaiste is acutely aware of the deeply held concerns in both Houses of the Oireachtas, and those of the public, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the exceptionally high level of public interest in this proposed legislation. We are aware that this Bill may be viewed differently by some international partners.

The Government is mindful of those views and concerns. However, this must be balanced against our international law obligations. The Government is clear that this is not a boycott or sanctions measure. It is about compliance with international law. As this legislation is progressed, pursuing an adequate response at EU level and communicating the Bill's purpose and motivation to external partners will continue to be priorities for the Tánaiste.

I thank the members for their attention. My colleague, Mr. Smyth, and I will be happy to respond to the members' questions in our respective areas of competence.