Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My colleague, Deputy Daly, has outlined clearly and in detail the activities of some of these companies in which Ireland is investing. I will put the issue to the Minister again. We have raised it numerous times during meetings of the finance committee where we have tried to pursue the legislation. What the Minister has told the House is that millions of euro of taxpayers' money are invested in companies that derive their profits from the illegal Israeli settlements. That is repugnant to hundreds of thousands of people who cannot stop it. The only person who can stop it is the Minister. The idea that their taxpayers' money, which they pay when they have finished their week on the shop floor, is being invested, no matter how big or small the investments - and millions are being invested - in companies that are operating in illegal Israeli settlements is repugnant and should stop today. That is what this is all about. It is not about asking whether €4 million is going to have a big impact or not. It should not be happening at all. It should be stopped immediately. It should have been stopped ages ago but it really needs to stop now. I am asking the Minister to engage with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, to ensure that we divest from those investments without delay.

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