Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

I listened intently to the Minister's speech. One of the things that struck me about it was that he mentioned many of the things that the Irish Government has done, recognising Palestine and all of the various actions that were taken, many of which we commend the Government for, and there is no issue with that. The problem is that when it comes to things that will actually give us real teeth, set us apart and give us a leadership role in the world, Ireland again steps back and holds back.

That is the difficulty with this.

The Minister made the point that the Bill that was before him did not do what it says it does. That is not true. The truth is - we try to find the things we can agree on - that Israeli State bonds, these war bonds or genocide bonds, have to be approved by some central bank in Europe. It is the Irish one that does it. It is not the central bank in France, Italy or any other country; it is the Irish one that does it and by approving them, then it facilitates them for sale. That is the point that we make. We are not suggesting that they are sold by the Irish Central Bank. We are not suggesting any of that.

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