Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Introducing the occupied territories Bill to the Dáil in January 2019, Deputy Niall Collins, who is now Minister of State with special responsibility for International Law, challenged those who would seek to dissuade the Dáil from passing the Bill and asked "If this is not the time to act, when will that time come?". According to the Government he became part of a little over a year later, it was not the time in 2022, which marked the deadliest year yet for children in the West Bank, with 34 Palestinian children dying, nor was it the time in 2023, when well in advance of 7 October, the toll had already surpassed that of 2022, with 38 Palestinian children being murdered by Israelis by late September. Following the ruling of the ICJ on the legal consequences of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, Ireland cosponsored the State of Palestine's first resolution before the United Nations General Assembly on its practical implications. That resolution did not distinguish between goods and services because the world court and international law do not, but that did become the brief time when Fine Gael's then Taoiseach, now the Tánaiste, in advance of the general election, pledged to support the Bill. However, very quickly after the election the commitments became less tangible again.

I welcome that the Government has chosen not to oppose this motion but it must implement legislation in full with services included. I put it to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, that in the aftermath of the crime of our generation, namely, the mass murder of Palestinian civilians, if not now, when?

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