Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy Brady, for his hard work on this Bill and his dedication to the Palestinian cause over the years. The intention of the Bill is to end Ireland's involvement in Israel's illegal enterprise. If the Bill is passed, Ireland could become a catalyst for other European countries to follow.

The National Treasury Management Agency was established in late 1990 to manage the assets and liabilities of the Irish Government. It also has responsibility for the management of ISIF, an independent wealth fund with a mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity in Ireland. The UN Human Rights Council published a database of 112 companies that have been identified as operating in breach of international law in the occupied territories. The facts are that Irish taxpayers' money has been invested in companies operating with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Irish taxpayers' money is also being invested in four Israeli banks which are instrumental in facilitating the ongoing campaign of annexation through the provision of funding and loans and the operation of ATMs in the illegal settlements, making these banks instrumental in the illegal land-grabs of Palestinian lands. Through their actions, the banks are aiding and abetting war crimes. The Minister of State can take another note of what I said there because I saw her taking notes on the other ones.

I was lucky enough to visit Palestine last year and I saw the Israeli illegal settlements at first hand. These settlements have resulted in a host of human rights violations against the Palestinian population including the unlawful demolition of homes and infrastructure, the destruction of agricultural land, forced displacement, unlawful killings and more. I visited the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine where I heard how Israeli forces use skunk water as a way of making Palestinian homes uninhabitable. Skunk water is exactly what it sounds like; it does exactly what it says on the tin. It is highly noxious. It is sprayed on the homes of Palestinian families, forcing them to go because the smell is so unbearable. I was shocked when I heard this and I do not get shocked easy. It is beyond human comprehension that Israel tasked some scientists to come up with something like this to begin with. The reason I mention it now is to show the Irish taxpayers that they are unwittingly funding this barbaric, inhumane behaviour. I urge the Government to support the Sinn Féin Bill fully and not kick it down the road for nine months. The Minister of State said in her statement that "The State should only be able to take action where it can defend its approach." I ask the Minister of State, who raised some questions of her own, to explain how she can defend this approach.

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