Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

As we all grapple with the images of deliberate starvation that we see in Gaza, each one of us thinks about what meaningful actions we can take in the face of such obvious war crimes. Ten months ago, the then Tánaiste, Taoiseach and I all received the same legal advice, namely that passing the occupied territories Bill was legally possible with some amendments, following the opinion of the International Court of Justice. The Government has since told us that it plans to introduce its own legislation, which will ban only goods produced in the occupied territories but not services. The Government has never told us why. It has said it received legal advice. What is it?

In the letter the Attorney General sent us last year, there was no mention of the need to make a distinction between goods and services. There was a 23-page letter going into great detail about the issues the Attorney General had with the Bill but there was not one reference to the need to make a distinction between goods and services. Let us remember the obligation the ICJ says member states have regarding the occupied territories: to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the occupied territories. The International Court of Justice has made no distinction between goods and services. Ten months ago, the Attorney General made no distinction between goods and services. On what basis is that distinction being made now?

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