Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I will be clear. We have called for follow-up action on the association agreement report. I will attend the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on the issue next week and I will be taking a very strong position that is consistent with what we have done before. The report is brief but it tells you enough about what Israel has done, which is exactly what the Deputy has said. The Government has taken a leadership role in approving the general scheme of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory Bill. Other countries have come to us directly to seek information on it. We have to be clear on its impact. The Government remains open to including services, subject to legal advice, but, as the Taoiseach said last week, we should be concerned about how the Bill could be misunderstood in the United States. The Taoiseach has highlighted US legislation that is present in many states that could penalise a company perceived to be engaging in a boycott. The Bill is the right thing to do but there is a need for honesty about its impact. The Taoiseach said that last week.

With regard to sanctions on Russia, from day one, we were very clear that we did not want to impose sanctions on Russia that would end up doing more harm to us than to it. We have to take a consistent approach. This country is very dependent on trade. All of us, including Social Democrat TDs, represent constituencies in which there are jobs that are dependent on our trading relationship with basically every country in the world. We should strive very hard for follow-up action at the EU level following the publication of the EU-Israel trade association agreement report, a report we called for and pushed for. Our shared goal has to be the end of this and to have two states living in peace and stability. We can never lose sight of that.

See this speech in context