Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

We recognise the Palestinian state, as do many other countries, but not everybody does. We need international consensus on that. It is a fragile moment and there is a need to keep positive momentum. The ceasefire is fragile and must be preserved.

Much more needs to be done to scale up delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Opposition is not wrong. The people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. We all see that every day. We need all crossings into Gaza fully opened for essential humanitarian aid. Efforts must advance to return essential services, provide for early recovery needs, including the basics of food, water, sanitation, shelter and heating, as well as medical needs and schooling for children.

We welcome the prospect of progress, even though it is incomplete and coming from a terrible base. We must maintain our focus on the situation in the West Bank. I remain extremely concerned by recent and ongoing developments across the West Bank, where Israeli military operations have displaced at least 40,000 people since January and caused widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and homes. The scale, speed and severity of displacement and demolitions is unprecedented. The number of settlement plans and tenders advanced by Israel in 2023 and 2024 represents a 250% increase over the previous seven-year period.

At least 849 obstacles that permanently or intermittently restrict the movement of 3.3 million Palestinians are currently installed across the West Bank. The decision to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area is unacceptable and a violation of international law, and on that there is broad consensus. The Israeli Government must stop settlement construction in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Ireland remains deeply concerned by the increasing instances of extremist settler violence and illegal settlement construction, which continue within an environment of impunity, restricting life for Palestinians across the West Bank. It is wrong. The olive harvest this year has been marred by the highest level of settler violence recorded over the past five years. Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since 7 October 2023. This figure represents 43% of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank in the past 20 years.

Ireland, alongside our EU partners, is strongly opposed to Israel’s settlement policy and activities, including in and around East Jerusalem. We have consistently called on Israel to halt these activities in our engagements at the EU and at the broader international level. The Minister, Deputy Entee, will raise these concerns at a meeting tomorrow of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

It is within this context that we are meeting here today to discuss the Bill. In June 2025, the Government approved the general scheme. The Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade held a number of hearings on the general scheme and received submissions representing a range of views and perspectives. The committee published its report on the Bill. Work to analyse the report and its recommendations is well under way. There are quite a lot of recommendations to the Government as to what we need to do to analyse, in particular, the potential implications of the Bill. That was agreed by all parties at the committee. The Department is finalising the regulatory impact assessment, which will be available on the Department’s website when completed. The next steps in the process, including the timeline for the progress of the Bill, are being considered by the Government.

The main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The programme for Government commits to prohibiting imports of goods. The general scheme, which the committee examined, does not prohibit trade in services with natural or legal persons located in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

We have said we have no policy issue regarding the inclusion of services, but the Bill must be legally robust and withstand challenge. Similarly, the question of implementation must be carefully considered. The trade in services is considerably more complex than goods and there remains considerable legal uncertainty as to whether the inclusion of services is permissible under EU law. We know for certain that the inclusion of goods is permissible under EU law. We need legal clarity on the point on services. We must take into account practical issues with regard to implementation should services be included in the scope of the Bill.

It remains the Government’s preference that collective action would be taken at EU level and Ireland continues to support and advocate for this. In this context, we have welcomed the announcements, as mentioned by Deputies, from the Dutch, Spanish, Slovenian and Belgian Governments, and I have discussed this with many of their ministers. By and large, the discussions relate to goods they have banned from illegal Israeli settlements. The Government has said repeatedly that we are committed to passing the Bill. Work is advancing across a number of strands at official level, as well as continued engagement at EU level - this would be much stronger if done at EU level - with like-minded partners.

Regarding the wider issue of EU trade with Israel in the context of the EU-Israel association agreement, which has been mentioned, the European Commission put forward proposals in September that included the suspension of the trade elements of that agreement. Notwithstanding the positive and welcome recent developments with regard to a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, Ireland has made clear at every opportunity our view that the EU must keep on the table the package of measures proposed by the Commission in response to Israeli human rights and other breaches.

In her State of the Union address, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was clear on the rationale for tabling the package of proposals, which remains valid. The primary focus at EU level now is ensuring the success of the ceasefire and peace deal and making a contribution to international efforts in this regard.

We do need to give peace a chance to succeed.

We also must address the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza, which remains no less urgent. Turning the tide on famine is likely to take a long time. More than 54,000 children are acutely malnourished and face increased risk of death if untreated. Infrastructure is in ruins, with over 80% of the Gaza Strip destroyed. Access to water, healthcare and shelter remains completely inadequate. Diseases are rife. Without urgent improvements and action, more people will die from preventable causes.

Despite improvements, the supply of humanitarian aid remains insufficient. The immediate focus must be on flooding humanitarian aid into and throughout Gaza. It is unacceptable that the majority of crossings into the Gaza Strip remain closed and that arbitrary restrictions continue to hinder the flow of humanitarian aid. With winter fast approaching, the vulnerability of already disenfranchised Palestinians living in these unstable and dangerous conditions grows ever more acute.

We have all seen the images Members have spoken about, including of people struggling to keep dry in rain-flooded tents in Gaza in recent days. In light of these devastating circumstances, Ireland welcomes the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which affirms that Israel must uphold its responsibilities as the "occupying power" by ensuring aid can flow freely, and by respecting and protecting the rights of the UN and other humanitarian agencies and their workers. We welcome that the 20-point plan expressly states that aid should be provided, without interference, through the UN and its agencies and other international institutions not associated with either party to the conflict.

International collaboration and the multilateral system have never been more important as we work to implement the next phase of the peace deal and look toward new horizons for peace in Israel and Palestine. Only through upholding principles of collective engagement, dialogue, respect for international law, and through the steadfast support of the United Nations and its bodies - and the European Union using the leverage it has as well - can we advance efforts toward a just, lasting and viable two-state solution that ensures dignity and security for both Palestinians and Israelis alike.

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