Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The NTMA has advised that its annual report for 2022 discloses ISIF’s shareholdings and contains, as at year end 2022, 11 companies which appear on the UN Human Rights Council database of business enterprises involved in certain activities related to the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as published by the UN Human Rights Council in February 2020 and updated in June 2023. The NTMA has advised me that ISIF constructs its portfolio within the legislative framework set for it by the Oireachtas.

When the Private Members' Illegal Israeli Settlement Divestment Bill 2023 was initiated in the Dáil, the Minister of State outlined the State’s position with regard to the policy of differentiation that the State adopts vis-à-visIsrael and the territories occupied by Israel since 1967. Ireland’s general position with regard to the occupied territories is very clear. In the debate on the Bill in May this year, the Minister of State also raised a number of specific concerns about the content and approach proposed in the Bill.

In that context, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights issued an update to the UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements on 30 June this year. In publishing the update, the UN said that it did not purport to provide a complete list of business enterprises engaged in certain activities in relation to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory. The update, which was also resource constrained and limited only to a review of those companies already listed, resulted in 15 companies being removed from the database.

As the Deputy is aware the Dáil agreed a nine-month timed amendment on 15 May to consider the issues raised by the Private Members' Bill brought forward by his party. This was to allow for consideration of the issues raised by that Bill. That timed amendment will expire in mid-February 2024 and I understand it is then a matter for the Oireachtas as to how the Bill will proceed. I will add furhter remarks shortly on the work we are doing with the NTMA and ISIF on the issues raised.

See this speech in context