Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand Senator Black has been in contact with the Minister and has not been able to get an appointment as of yet. I hope that will happen very shortly. I will keep asking the question. This has not been addressed; I have not been given an answer. I raised it numerous times in the course of the last debate. I have raised it twice here already. Technical issues can be overcome. They are overcome frequently. God knows how many amendments came into the planning Act on Committee Stage during the last few months of the previous Dáil. That kind of stuff happens regularly. Is it possible to engage with the Bill and adjust? Technical issues were advanced with the drafter of the Bill but they were not huge. There were technical issues and technical reviews from the Department of Foreign Affairs but they were entirely reachable. The point is that technical issues are being used as a ruse or distraction from the fact that the policy of the Government has changed since the election. The Government's policy is now to ban only goods. If it was Ireland, 30% of our trade is in goods. I will put the question again simply. Does the Government intend to have a ban on the trading of services with the occupied territories? That is a very clear question; the Minister has an opportunity to answer it.

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