Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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11. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will make a public statement supporting the South African case against Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and advocate for Ireland to formally intervene in the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3348/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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19. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade about the situation in Palestine; what legal advice he sought before deciding not to join South Africa's case at the ICJ; about progress on the occupied territories Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3344/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Once again, I appeal to the Tánaiste, as we have been doing since the middle of November, to publicly support the case that has now been taken by South Africa against Israel for the commission of genocide where there is overwhelming evidence that it is committing crimes that are considered to be genocidal under the genocide convention.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 19 together.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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It is Questions Nos. 11 and 19.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am not in charge of the groupings. It is the Department that does that.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The Deputy should feel free to come in with a supplementary question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have no problem with that.

I have been closely monitoring developments in the case taken under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice. The public hearings that took place on 11 and 12 January involved the two parties to the proceedings, South Africa and Israel, and focused on the question of provisional measures. No other country has joined them yet as they cannot. I anticipate that the court will deliver its order on the provisional measures in the South Africa case tomorrow, Friday, 26 January. Any provisional measures ordered by the court will be final and binding on the parties to which the orders are addressed.

The court’s decision on provisional measures will be analysed carefully by the Government once it has been published. We will also continue to consult closely with our international partners, including South Africa. Following this analysis and consultations, the Government will consider whether to seek permission to intervene and, if so, on what legal basis. This reflects the fact that the statute of the court provides a narrow legal basis on which third parties may be permitted to intervene in such cases and the need for careful and rigorous legal analysis of the relevant issues.

As with all other similar cases that have come before the court, states normally seek permission to intervene in the case only once the applicant - in this case, South Africa - has filed its memorial, as occurred in the Ukraine v. Russia and Gambia v. Myanmar cases. If states choose to do so in the case, they do not “join” one side or another; rather, they submit a statement that asserts their interpretation of the provision of the convention at issue, or they must identify a specific legal interest affected by the proceedings.

Ireland has participated in two advisory opinion cases before the International Court of Justice regarding the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory to date. In 2004, Ireland submitted a written statement on the “Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. In 2022, the UN General Assembly requested that the court give an advisory opinion on the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”. Ireland voted in favour of this resolution and submitted a written statement to the court last July.

The oral proceedings in this case will take place in February, and Ireland will participate.

The Government’s position on the current conflict remains that we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, the end of Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israel, and rapid, full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza. These actions cannot wait for the court’s decision on provisional measures; they need to happen now.

As I have stated on several occasions in the House, the Occupied Territories Bill would not be compatible with EU law and would not be implementable. That is the clear legal advice on the matter. The Government will therefore not be taking it forward.

Ireland’s opposition to illegal Israeli settlements is grounded in international law. To adopt a unilateral approach that runs contrary to legal advice would undermine Ireland’s stance on this issue and our broader advocacy of compliance with international law.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Once again, the Government is dancing around its obligations under the genocide convention. Forget about all the other stuff the Tánaiste said. This is about the genocide convention. In November, the Tánaiste was asked in the Dáil to discharge his obligations under the genocide convention, which requires that all signatories, as soon as they hear of the possibility of a genocide taking place, examine whether they believe such a thing is taking place and take action to stop it. This has been in Irish law since 1973. The Tánaiste has not done that. Unless he is telling me now that he has done it. South Africa did it, but the Tánaiste poured cold water on what was being said. He suggested that it might not be a genocide and gave excuses why Ireland could not get involved. In November, we asked the Tánaiste to instigate action or to at least examine the matter. He did nothing. Even now, he will not issue a statement to the effect that he agrees with South Africa. Does he agree with what South Africa is doing? The world can see the genocide that is happening. Does the Tánaiste agree and will he support South Africa?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As usual, the Deputy is distorting the truth. I have observed his performance in all of this, and it is a performance.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Jesus.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is more about propaganda. It is more about unfairly undermining the Government in the context of its position on Palestine. At one level, what the Deputy is at beggars belief.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Jesus Christ.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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At another level, I understand what he is at in terms of the prism through which he sees the world. His idea is that he is the Holy Grail when it comes to supporting the Palestinian people. Internationally, people perceive Ireland and the Irish Government as being very strong supporters of the people of Palestine. The Deputy is wrong again in his approach. On the provisional measures that have been sought, we sought them. We have participated, as one of the few countries legally in the court, but we do things properly, rigorously and with analysis. For a person who talks loudly about wanton murder and destruction, why has the Deputy failed to condemn the Hamas attack that took place on 7 October? Why did the statement his party issued some weeks ago seem to almost implicitly condone that terrible atrocity? There is no consistency in the Deputy's approach.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Can we have some consistency with the times, please?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I hold Israel responsible for the violence we have seen. That is my view. From 1948 onward. It is not just me who is saying that. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and every decent Israeli historian, including Ilan Pappé - we could go through the list - acknowledges this. You can go through the list, about decades of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, illegal occupation, apartheid, illegal settlements and a 16-year siege of Gaza. Inevitably, that produces violence. Now we are seeing the absolutely genocidal logic of the apartheid state, and the Irish Government stands by and does nothing. Whatever the Tánaiste may think about who is to blame, what is clear is that there is a genocide happening. It was clear in November when he was asked about the matter. He has obligations. He is still dancing around the obligation on states to act, including unilaterally, to prevent genocide. In two years’ time, it will be too late for the Palestinian people.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Boyd Barrett's failure or deliberate decision not to condemn Hamas is shocking and utterly inconsistent with what he is asking the Government to do in respect of other issues. Women were raped and subsequently murdered on 7 October. Children were killed or abducted. I saw the Deputy in a clip where he tried to protest that he did not quite know what happened that day. He was on a university platform. His position is absolutely reprehensible. He condones murder-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is absolutely-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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You do.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Do not dare say that.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, you do.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Do not dare say that I condone murder.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, you do.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is absolutely disgraceful. You are complicit.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Then why do you not condemn it?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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You are complicit with Israel's slaughter. You do not use the same strength of language when it comes to Israel's slaughter.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I want to make the point, if I may, through the Chair-----

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are going to do this through the Chair. It is a question and then a response to the question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This is a very serious issue-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It certainly is, and you would want to be careful.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----because the Deputy is accusing the Government of dancing around. We are not dancing around anything. We have a strong record internationally. When we go before courts, they are not debating chambers. They are not places where you can dance around. Because that is the sum total of the substance that you bring to this issue. You dance around all the time. You accuse others of not participating. You accuse others of being complicit in crime. It seems that your main aim is to try to undermine other parties in this House-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I just asked you to do something.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----as opposed to dealing with the substance of the issue, namely, how we can help Palestinians in a practical sense.

Deputy Howlin's question is valid. The Israelis may very well ignore the provisional findings of the court. That is a concern and that is why, parallel with dealing with the court case - which we will and which we will do properly as we have done in terms of the advisory opinion with the UN. We will be participating at the court in February. Through international pressure, we have to get this war stopped because too many children are dying in Gaza. I condemn that too. I condemn what is going on in Gaza. I condemn the continuing bombardment of Gazans that is resulting in innocent women and children being killed. There is a consistency to the Government's approach. We will do it properly.