Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)

Following on from that, I think communication with any politicians in America or anywhere else must make clear exactly what this legislation does. It is squarely within the footprint of international law. It is targeting the occupied territories and nothing else.

I will make a couple of points on the legal side of things. I find this debate rather frustrating. We have been told there is legal uncertainty. It is difficult to understand how it was possible to ensure there was an effective ban on trade in goods and services in response to the situation in Ukraine. The fact that it originated at European level does not make a difference to how it is implemented at a domestic level. If it is initiated domestically, the functional way in which it is implemented is much the same. What legal obstacles did not exist in the other case that exist in this one? It is very hard to understand.

I made the point that the Minister was new in the brief. I hope a change of course can happen. It seems to me that the Government has been stuck between deciding to drop the Bill, slow-pedal it or water it down, and has decided to do all of the above, to date. It is hard to justify, given the way it has been articulated for so long, how it has taken so long to get to this point.

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