Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that: — the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 (OTB), first introduced by Senator Frances Black and other members of Seanad Éireann, proposed to give effect to the State's obligations arising under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and to ban trade in goods or services with an occupied territory;

— the OTB passed First Stage in the Seanad on 24th January, 2018, almost eight years ago, it passed Second Stage in the Dáil on 24th January, 2019 and has been at Dáil Committee Stage, without progress, for the intervening almost seven years;

— on 19th July, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an Advisory Opinion which confirmed that, under international law, "Member States are under an obligation... to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory... and to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the OPT";

— the Tánaiste, Simon Harris TD, has stated that the Irish Government considers that the ICJ's Advisory Opinion "represents an authoritative statement of applicable international law which is binding on all states and international organisations, including the European Union (EU) and its Member States";

— on 25th June, 2025, the Government published the General Scheme of the proposed Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025, which was then sent to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for the purposes of pre-legislative scrutiny;

— the provisions of the General Scheme seek to prohibit the importation of goods originating in Israeli settlements but do not include a ban on export of goods, or on the import or export of services;

— the 19th July, 2024 Advisory Opinion of the ICJ did not make any distinction between trade in goods and services for the purposes of international law;

— a range of eminent legal experts who spoke before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade during pre-legislative scrutiny meetings, stated that the obligations outlined in the ICJ Advisory Option applied to both goods and to services, and the Legal Advisor at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the Committee that, regarding the binding obligations clarified by the ICJ, "trade is trade in goods and services";

— on 18th September, 2024, Ireland co-sponsored a Resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which, in line with the ICJ Advisory Opinion, called upon all States to comply with their obligations under international law, as reflected in the Advisory Opinion, and to prevent trade or investment relations with the illegal Israeli settlements, making no distinction between trade in goods and trade in services;

— in advice provided to the Government in 2024, and available online, the Attorney General, in concluding that the OTB is justifiable on grounds of "public policy" under EU law, stated that the State may argue that "the proposed offences", plural, included in the OTB "are necessary to uphold respect for rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and human dignity" and "represent the fulfilment by the State of the obligations referred to in the ICJ Opinion", and that those offences, plural, include a prohibition on trade in both goods and services;

— equivalent measures restricting trade in goods, services and investment with Russian-occupied territories were adopted by Ireland and other EU member states in 2014, remained in force, and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation noted at the Oireachtas Joint Committee that those laws were adhered to and practically implemented without significant issues being raised by its members;

— research by academics, development organisations, journalists and UN bodies have identified significant trade in services between EU-based companies and the illegal Israeli settlements, including specific and publicly identifiable companies based in Ireland, and that this trade assists in maintaining the illegal situation created by Israel in the OPT, just as trade in goods does;

— on 31st July, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade published its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill;

— the Oireachtas Joint Committee's pre-legislative scrutiny report "strongly recommends progressing the Bill and that the prohibition of imports from the Palestinian Occupied Territories should be extended to include trade in services, in line with the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ and the Resolution which Ireland co-sponsored at the UN General Assembly";

— the Oireachtas Joint Committee also recommended that the title of the Bill be the "Illegal Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods and Services) Bill";

— despite the publication of the Oireachtas Joint Committee pre-legislative scrutiny report over three months ago, and its inclusion in the list of Legislation for Priority Publication for the Autumn Session 2025, the Bill has not yet been brought before Dáil Éireann;

— since pre-legislation scrutiny concluded in July, several other EU member states have either fully passed or announced plans to prohibit trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and that several of these go further than the draft Government proposal, including a ban on the export of goods (Slovenia) and a ban on the advertisement of services (Spain); and

— the situation in the OPT remains devastating, including record numbers of home demolitions, settler attacks, and orders for new illegal settlement construction in 2025, and that this current political context requires States to actively defend international law and human rights, and deliver on their prior commitments, rather than delaying or rolling them back; and calls on the Government to: — accept the recommendation of the pre-legislative scrutiny report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade that the Israeli Settlements in the proposed Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill, should be extended to include trade in services; and

— as a matter of the utmost urgency, bring the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill, amended to include services, before the Dáil, and do everything necessary to ensure the Bill can be enacted before the end of this year.

I am sharing with Deputies Murphy and Coppinger. This Government speaks out of both sides of its mouth when it comes to the issue of Palestine. In one breath it states it stands with the people of Palestine against the crimes that Israel inflicts on them and promises sanctions while in the other breath it reassures its friends in the White House that it is going to do nothing at all, and the consequence of that is that despite promises for nearly ten years on the occupied territories Bill, it still has not passed it. It is bad enough that since 2018 the Government has refused to pass this Bill to impose sanctions on Israel for the illegal settlements in the West Bank but then after two years of a genocidal massacre, the Government still refuses to pass it, having made solemn promises in the recent general election that it would pass it, and is seeking to dilute it by leaving out services. It is an absolute disgrace. There is simply no justification for it. I hope the fact that the new Minister is not here is not a sign of a disrespectful attitude towards this Bill and towards taking the issue seriously.

As our motion sets out, there are simply no excuses left for this Government. Politically the Government promised the Irish people it would pass the occupied territories Bill, with no mention of leaving services out or anything. The Government made a promise and it should keep that promise. The joint Oireachtas committee, which includes Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members, has recommended the occupied territories Bill be passed and the Government got clear legal advice from the Attorney General to the joint Oireachtas committee that there is no difficulty legally with including services in the occupied territories Bill and the ban on the importation of goods from the occupied territories. The Government has stated that the International Court of Justice advisory opinion is an authoritative statement on international law and that it requires all EU member states to prevent the importation of goods from occupied territories but, of course, this Government still refuses to do it, even when other governments in Europe have now done it. Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands have all now passed Bills imposing sanctions on Israel in terms of the occupied territories. Yet, this Government that I do not know how many times I have heard come in here and claim it is the most pro-Palestinian voice in the EU still refuses to do so.

Of course, the double standards and contrast with what we heard last night in the statements on Ukraine is so blatant it is really outrageous. Rightly, the Government condemned Vladimir Putin for an imperialist invasion of Ukraine. What was the response of this Government to that invasion? It was instantaneous sanctions and 19 rounds of sanctions imposed on Putin for what is and was a bloody, brutal and unjustifiable invasion in Ukraine. However, in the case of Palestine, after two years of a genocidal massacre, 17 years of a criminal siege on Gaza, decades of ethnic cleansing, 700,000 illegal settlements on the West Bank, an apartheid system, denial of the right to return and ethnic cleansing on an ongoing basis and there is not a single sanction. It is shameful. Stop dancing to the tune of Donald Trump and the White House; the enablers of the genocide in Palestine. Do what was promised to the Irish people. Do what is right for the Palestinians and for humanity.

If the Government has any respect for international law and for human rights, it must pass the occupied territories Bill, which, by the way, is only the minimal sanction that should be imposed on this regime. Let us be clear: all the occupied territories Bill does is impose a ban on the importation of goods from the illegal settlements. In our view - and I will be absolutely clear about this- we should be going a lot further than that. There should be a complete boycott, divestment, and sanctions from this criminal regime. A regime that is capable of genocide has no place in the civilised world. This Bill does not even address the issue of the right to return or the apartheid system and the criminal siege of Gaza. It is a minimal sanction in line with the Government's international legal obligations. Do what you said you would do: pass this Bill and finally impose sanctions on this criminal regime.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Two days ago, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, a resolution endorsing the so-called Trump peace plan - a peace plan that, disgracefully, was welcomed by the Irish Government. We will probably hear it welcomed again today. It makes the saying from Tacitus, "they make a desert and call it peace," the most appropriate it has ever been because after two years of genocide, after killing at least 66,000 people, over 20,000 children, after imposing famine, after mowing people down while queuing for food, after destroying the majority of buildings, the hospitals, the schools, the universities, the homes in Gaza, now a peace is declared but it is no peace at all. It is a continued colonial carve-up that is remarkable only for how naked it is.

The UN resolution explicitly endorses the so-called "board of peace" as a "transitional administration". This is a board to be chaired by Donald Trump. The only other member we know who is going to be on it is Tony Blair, a war criminal, but presumably he will be joined by a series of other war criminals and these people are to be imposed, without vote and without any consultation with the Palestinian people, as new colonial viceroys on the people of Gaza.

What Trump plans to do there is set out in his own Trump plan. It was set out in that disgusting video about the Trump-Riviera plan for Gaza and then, in slightly more polite terms, it is in the peace plan as a "Trump economic development plan" and "a special economic zone". There is going to be an army of occupation called the international stabilisation force answerable, not to the Palestinian people, but to the viceroys on the board of peace. What is absent from the UN resolution and what is absent from the peace plan is the Palestinian people; the Palestinian people's right to self-defence, their right to determine their own government and their right to self-determination.

However, the counterpart to the genocide we saw openly unfolding for two years in Gaza, backed by western imperialism, armed by western imperialism, supported by western imperialism, the US, Germany, Britain, the EU, is the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.

This year, 30,000 settlement units have been approved by the Israeli Government. The term "settlements" does not capture what is happening. Palestinian people are being violently removed from their land. Their land is being stolen from them today and taken by these Israeli settlers. Later on, the Israeli Government authorises and recognises this and more Palestinian land is stolen. At the time of the Oslo Accords, there were 250,000 illegal Israeli settlers. When Senator Frances Black first introduced this Bill, there were 600,000 such settlers and today there are 750,000 of them. The latest settlement is the so-called E1, which divides the West Bank in two, further isolating Palestinians in Jerusalem. It is all about a logic of extermination of the Palestinian people. That is what the genocide and the settlements are about.

This motion is an extremely modest proposal, as Deputy Boyd Barrett has outlined. It is in line with international law. The International Court of Justice is clear that states are under an obligation to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings and to prevent trade or investment relations with the settlements. There is no mention just of goods there. International law is very clear. It is also in line with the strong recommendation of the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee, which strongly recommended "progressing the Bill" and that the prohibition on imports "should be extended to include trade in services". It is line with the promises made by Simon Harris and Micheál Martin over a year ago during the general election debate.

This motion is extremely minimal in what it asks, as is the Bill. Our motion could not be simpler or clearer, with only two very simple asks. One is that the Bill be implemented in full before Christmas and the other is that services be included. We have a Government that says it is not going to oppose this motion, so this will be the position of the Dáil after this debate. However, in the same breath as saying that it is not going to oppose the motion, the Government is saying that it is not going to guarantee that it will implement it before Christmas and that it has not yet decided if it is going to include services. It is a complete joke. The Government makes a farce of this place by saying that the Dáil can pass whatever it wants, that it will allow a simple two-ask motion to pass, but it will not give any commitment to actually implement it. That is the height of cynicism. What is it about? It is about cowardice. The Government does not want to face the prospect of TDs who support this Government voting against it. It does not want to see Members who supported the call at the foreign affairs committee to include services being pressured to vote against including services now. It does not want to reveal its real position to the Irish people, which is that it does not want to include services. It wants to water this legislation down. That is the truth of its position, which is one of extreme moral cowardice and extreme cynicism.

I will now address both the so-called good reasons put forward by the Government to explain why, in reality, it wants to back away from this, as well as the real reasons. One of the good reasons put forward by Simon Harris on a number of occasions is that he wants to include services but is afraid that there might be legal issues with it. There is no basis to that whatsoever. First, there is the position of the International Court of Justice, upon which the whole change of Government position was based, which makes no distinction between goods and services. That is the fundamental point in terms of international law. Second, there is now talk of Attorney General advice. This is the most blatant retroactive getting of advice to suit a political position. The Attorney General already gave advice on this and made no mention of any problem in terms of services. This is simply an attempt to find legal cover for the political retreat that the Government wants to engage in.

A second argument is that we do not want to be alone, but we are going so slowly, under public pressure, that we are no longer alone. Slovenia has already moved to ban imports by immediate government decision. In Belgium, there is a government announcement in relation to the occupied territories and Spain has moved on the importation of goods, as has the Netherlands. We are certainly no longer alone. The other argument that is now advanced, which is absolutely threadbare, is the idea that this will be unimplementable. How could we possibly do this in terms of services? The problem the Government has there is that it already does it in terms of services in Russia. The Government has implemented full sanctions and a ban on the import and export of goods and services with Russia, and IBEC accepted at a meeting of the foreign affairs committee that businesses had complied with that ban.

Now I come to the real reason for the Government's cowardice on this issue, which is pressure from US imperialism, lobbying from the US Chamber of Commerce and pressure from the US ambassador. It is very blatant that this is the case. There is an excellent new report from Uplift, called The Neutrality Files, which explains this bit by bit. Uplift's summary of the situation is that the Government's public justifications for not passing the occupied territories Bill, namely, EU law and costs, were a smokescreen for the real reason, which is capitulation to economic pressure from the US activated on behalf of Israel. In October 2025, Reuters broke a story that the Bill would be diluted as a direct result of corporate pressure. Later in October, speaking to the Dáil, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, signalled that the Bill would go ahead without services. That is the truth. In October 2024, the US ambassador to Ireland, Ms Claire Cronin, warned of "consequences" for US companies in Ireland if the Bill proceeded. Hours later, the then Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, announced that the Bill would be shelved for review. We know that back in 2019 the then Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, in a confidential call quoted in leaked Israeli documents, confirmed that the Irish Government would be using a procedure known as a money message to seek to block the progress of the draft Irish legislation. That is all this is and the only thing that can force this Government to act is massive public pressure from below. That is why I will be on the streets with lots of others tonight at 5.30 p.m outside the Dáil.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I want to read a quote about this Bill:

If passed, Ireland and her Parliament will be sending a strong message, that it condemns the occupation of territories deemed illegal under international law. This Bill, at its most basic, is about upholding international law. It applies to illegal occupations anywhere in the world and not just to Israel and Palestine.

It was a member of the Minister of State's party, Deputy Niall Collins, who said that in this House in 2019. What has changed? What has happened in the intervening years is that there has been a genocide. Gaza has been reduced not to rubble or ruins but to ashes. Israel has carried out that genocide. The Irish Government says that it recognises the genocide. The Government was in here in 2019 saying "rah, rah, rah" but now it is sheepishly pulling back from its own Bill. It is a pity that the new Minister for foreign affairs is not here to listen to this debate. I cannot think of too many issues that are more pressing and that should be on her agenda right now. Again, this is another insult to the Dáil.

I issue a content warning for anybody listening, but soldiers accused of sexually assaulting handcuffed Palestinian detainees have received standing ovations in court in Israel. The stories that we have heard since the release of the Palestinian hostages have made our skin crawl. I am in a WhatsApp group called D15 with Palestine that has many local Palestinian members. They share videos that they get from within Palestine but we could not even post half of them on our social media because it would be too distressing.

We have heard a lot of guff in recent days, and I heard it again this morning as I drove in here, about the centre and how important that is to the Government. The centre is pro-genocide and pro-imperialism. Let us cut the crap here about the centre. The EU is not just trading with Israel; it is giving it favourable terms of trade. That is the centre. The centre is imperialism, now carving up Gaza. The Irish people have done a lot but the Irish Government has done absolutely nothing but talk. By the way, as well as reports on the treatment of detainees, we have seen reports of a shoot-to-kill policy but I want to talk about public opinion and why the Government is so against what the Irish people want. As my colleagues have said, Ireland has compromised its own sovereignty due to our FDI model. Approximately 75% of corporation tax comes from American multinationals and 69% of FDI is US based.

It has distorted our economy and many things relating to how we measure our success. It has created a deep structural link to Israel. I wondered why Ireland is the second largest trader with Israel. Lo and behold, when it is broken down, it is because Intel is here. According to a report into our FDI model and how it supports genocide, Intel had bespoke infrastructure created for it through investment from our Government. The Government's dependence on an economic model of capitalism in Ireland means that we are now not able to support any measures against genocide.

Ireland has become a financial offshoring base through the creation of the IFSC. It is a platform for companies, in particular US companies, to filter operations and profits through Ireland rather than Ireland creating its own industry. I do not have time to develop this point, but I will give some examples. The Azure cloud platform, which carries out mass surveillance of Palestinian mobile phones, came from data centres in Ireland run by Microsoft, as well as other countries. Project Nimbus, a €1.2 billion contract with Amazon and Israel, was possible because the data centres the Government loves so much create and hold that data here. The real reason for not passing the occupied territories Bill is not legal advice. Rather, it is the Government's cowardice and industrial policy, along with the Israeli lobbying that has been happening. This is about contagion. Israel does not want any government taking any action that will send a message across the world regarding what other governments could do. It is shameful.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to begin by restating the Government’s commitment to achieving a just and lasting settlement of the conflict involving Palestinians and Israel. Appropriate, timely and effective action on this crisis has been a priority for the Government. Our foreign policy on this issue has been clear and consistent for decades, grounded in the commitment to uphold international law. We are in a better position now than we have been in recent months, notwithstanding everything that has happened.

The agreement on a ceasefire represents progress. It has brought desperately needed respite to Palestinians in Gaza and relief to the people of Israel, not all of whom support the actions of their Government. The long-overdue release of hostages held by Hamas is also very welcome and a significant development. It has brought relief to the hostages and their families. Hamas needs to complete the release of the remains of those hostages who were killed, so that their families can properly mourn them.

I commend the efforts of the US, as well as Qatar, Türkiye and Egypt, in securing this much-needed agreement. I commend efforts to progress the implementation of what has been agreed. The international community must play its part if these efforts are to succeed. We will have peace and two states in the region. The adoption of a resolution on Gaza by the UN Security Council is an important step towards implementation of the peace plan. The text provides clarity on how the next stages of the plan will be taken forward, including the creation of an international stabilisation force. The Security Council has the international authority to make these decisions and I am glad it has done that. There are references in the text to working towards a Palestinian state, which is welcome.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Have you read it?

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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I thank my colleagues Deputies Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett and their staff for bringing forward this extremely important detailed motion. I am happy to cosign and support this motion and its calls for the Government to urgently progress this Bill on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and include a ban on trade services.

There is supposedly a ceasefire in Gaza. Let us be honest: if what is happening in Palestine today were to happen anywhere else, there would be outrage. The Palestinians have been abandoned and left behind. There would have been absolute uproar. There may have been a reduction in violence but hundreds of people have been killed by Israel since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October and even more have been injured. According to satellite images reviewed by the BBC, Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza. Photos show entire neighbourhoods controlled by the IDF have been levelled in less than a month. We have only learned this through satellite images - God knows what is actually happening on the ground because it is extremely difficult to get reliable information because of the number of journalists who have been killed. Israel has killed 232 journalists in Gaza. On average that is 13 per month. This is the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded. More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both world wars. That should be the cause of absolute outrage but it is not.

The information we receive about Palestine is unreliable and incomplete. As a result, people have been destroyed, their families wiped out and ceasefire violations are occurring. What are we doing about this? The occupied territories Bill passed Second Stage in the Seanad in January 2019. It has been left on Committee Stage for seven years. We sat and allowed this conflict to escalate for seven years. We are meant to be doing something as a country but we have done very little. The Government is to blame for that.

We knew about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people long before 7 October and we did nothing to intervene. Even since then we have not used our voice to condemn the role America and Europe have played in this and their actions. We recognised the State of Palestine but only after others did it. We should have been the first. We do recognise the State of Palestine. There is nothing noble about these people having been made to suffer and the horrors they have gone through over the past few years.

For years and years we have witnessed the suffering on a scale that will never been compared. We have seen children dying. We have seen families wiped out and we have done nothing about it. Israel must be held accountable for its actions and continuing violations. Passing the occupied territories Bill would send an important message that we will not stand by and allow genocide to be normalised. We must act today and every day. History will judge us on what we have done.

The Minister of State said this was a fragile moment. It is a lot more than a fragile moment as far as I am concerned. Genocide is genocide and the Irish Government is afraid to say it. Israel is complicit in genocide. It is ridiculous that we sit here and have not passed the occupied territories Bill.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal. That is the basis of this. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice confirmed that and delivered an advisory opinion, which confirmed that under international law member states are under an obligation to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the occupied Palestinian territories and to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.

There are about 250 illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and this number is expanding on a daily basis. In February 2023 there were over 500,000 settlers. That figure now grown to over 700,000. In February 2024, the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced plans for 3,426 new Israeli homes to be built in the West Bank making a record of over 18,500 homes. In July 2024, Israel announced the biggest seizure of Palestinian land in three decades declaring 12.7 sq. km in the Jordan Valley to be state property. Settler violence is an ongoing threat to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Campaigns of harassment continue daily. In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council reported that more that more than 400 incidents of violence had occurred. The Israel Defense Forces and outsourced private security companies stand by and take no action to prevent violence. Instead, they respond to settler violence by ordering Palestinians to leave the area and even actively supporting the settlers.

We know 2023 was the worst year of settler violence, even before 7 October, with 1,096 settler attacks on Palestinians. Israel Defense Forces and settlers have killed over 1,000 people in the West Bank since October 2023. The State of Israel must be held accountable for genocide and for the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. Ireland, because of its colonial occupation, our genocidal famine and settler occupation, is uniquely placed to lead that accountability. Almost eight years after the introduction of the Bill, now supported by the Attorney General, the Oireachtas joint committee, by promises in the general election campaign and by the introduction of similar bills in other European countries, it is time that this country introduced and passed the Bill. We are sick of waiting. The Bill should be passed now.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I thank colleagues in the Independent and Parties Technical Group for bringing this motion forward. I am pleased to speak in favour of it but I am absolutely dismayed to find myself a year after a general election, where the occupied territories Bill was a key part of the national conversation, to be still discussing the need to pass the OTB. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael made commitments to enact the Bill during the election campaign, which was a significant change from their previous views, and a promise to the electorate that they would not do anything to block the progression of the Bill anymore. Those changes came about in light of the opinion of the International Court of Justice, which gave the Government a much stronger legal footing to enact the Bill. There were previous legal concerns about the ability of the Bill to withstand challenges in the European courts but the ICJ opinion addressed those concerns. Indeed, it went further. The court noted that we are obliged to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that insist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel.

At the time, both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste committed to progressing the Bill. What has happened since then? In January of this year, the Government announced it would bring forward its own occupied territories Bill-lite, abandoning Senator Frances Black's legislation and removing the issue of services from the Bill. Neither the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste have ever been able to convincingly explain to the Irish public why they believe services need to be omitted. The Tánaiste told us he had received legal advice but, as someone who received the same legal advice from the Attorney General in the summer of last year, I can say there was absolutely no reference within it to a need to make a distinction between goods and services. It was a 23-page letter that went into great detail about the issues the Attorney General had with the Bill but, in 23 pages, there was not one reference to a need to make a distinction between goods and services.

What has happened since then? The Dáil has continued to raise pressure on this issue. In February, we debated a motion on the topic. There were statements on Gaza in May, July and October. We now have a recommendation from the foreign affairs committee to progress the Bill. Clearly and importantly, it recommends that we progress the Bill while including services. Despite this, we still have no occupied territories Bill enacted. Let this be the last time we have to bring forward a motion to discuss what the Government is doing. We have a new Minister for foreign affairs. I wish her well in her role. She has said this will be a top issue for her. There can be no question but that an occupied territories Bill that is passed without the inclusion of services is not what the Irish people want nor is it what the majority in this House wants. Most importantly, it will not meet the legal obligations of Ireland and other member states under international law, which were set out clearly by the International Court of Justice. We need to pass this Bill and it must include services.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Some 250 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire. As of 11 November, there have been 282 breaches of the ceasefire. That is some ceasefire. That equates to about 10% of the number of people killed in the entire Irish War of Independence. The number of people being killed in Gaza every day is still enormous. There has been a lot of discussion about this ceasefire, this deal and so on. I certainly welcome any progress towards peace. I welcome the fact that progress is being made in that direction. I welcome the release of hostages. Indeed, I echo the call for the release of the remains of those hostages who have died.

Previous speakers, including Ministers, have talked about it being a fragile moment. It is a fragile moment but in a different way from what I believe they meant. It is a fragile moment for the Palestinian people, their ability to have a state of their own and their right to self-determination. A lot of what is happening and a lot of what is being talked about only further highlights the needs for the occupied territories Bill and for pressure to be put on Israel and its allies to respect the rights of the Palestinian people. I refer to their right to life and to decent living conditions in the first instance, but I also refer to their right to an independent state. That is being undermined every day. Yet again, it comes back to the point that there is no accountability for Israel and no consequences for its actions. Every day, we see the Israeli state being more and more directed towards encroachment by means of the establishment of settlements, which is accelerating. Now we are even seeing Israel looking at some sort of erasure of Gaza or a reduction in its size. Statements in the Knesset suggest there may be settlements there in the future. All the while, Israel is undermining the potential future of the Palestinian state.

It is worth making the point that we have been talking about this occupied territories Bill. Deputy O'Gorman is right. I also felt there was a clear direction in terms of the occupied territories Bill but we have been talking about it for seven years at this stage. This Bill has been before these Houses for seven years. Elections happen, promises are made and then there is a change of heart. After the election, this Government seemed unable to decide whether it wanted to water down the Bill or to undertake a slow bicycle race in relation to it. Instead, it seems to have decided to do both. It is both watering it down and not progressing the legislation it has been talking about. It is unacceptable.

With regard to the situation on the ground, Médecins sans Frontières provided a briefing in the audiovisual room. A phrase used by a medical professional who had been in Gaza - I am not sure whether he was a doctor or a nurse - has stayed with me. He was not even trying to be poetic or anything like that but he said there is no colour in Gaza and that everything is grey. He was talking about the fact, which has been referred to here, that 80% of the Gaza area is rubble. There is nothing left. The ability of those people to put their lives together again requires the international community to keep the pressure on and not to look away from the situation, and that includes Ireland. We are not overstating the influence of Ireland. We are not an enormous state but we use what leverage we have. This is one of those pieces. The fact that this legislation was being debated here put the matter on the table at EU level, including in Slovenia and Spain, which are now going ahead of us.

I will come back to the legal question. I have never received a clear answer on this. I do not believe there is one. I think this is a political decision. The Government has told us that, because of the International Court of Justice decision, we can now, on the basis of a public policy exemption, institute a ban on goods. The sanctions and bans on goods and services imposed on Russia after the appalling and illegal invasion of Ukraine were undertaken on that same basis. If the public policy exemption for goods and services in the instance of Russia can be used, why is it only applicable to goods in relation to Palestine? There is no clear answer to that. It is a political decision. I inform the Minister of State and the new Minister and we will keep the pressure on because the correct political and moral decision is not to look away but to continue to use Ireland's influence in whatever ways we can to stop what is happening in Gaza and to deliver a true and meaningful peace and a political solution.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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Every town and village across this island has a Palestinian solidarity group. Some are small and others are much bigger. They are made up of thousands of people who are involved every single week in making sure we do not look away and that we do all that we can to sanction Israel and support the Palestinian people in the face of a brutal and vicious genocide. I refer to groups like Balbriggan for Palestine and Skerries for Peace and people like Dr. Sarah Taaffe, whose exhibition is running in Lusk Community Cultural Centre at the moment, and Mags O'Brien from Trade Union Friends of Palestine. She works every single day of the week and never lets us forget. She knows it is important. These groups and these people want this Government to do all it can to stop the torture of the Palestinian people. They want the Government to insist on sanctions, to lead by example and to explain why the new auto-enrolment pension scheme, which will be rolled out in January, is being managed by Tata Consultancy Services, a company that human rights organisations such as Salam for Democracy and Human Rights reported as early as 2021 provides the core digital infrastructure for Israel's settlement financing banks and is a key partner in Project Nimbus, a military cloud project. We do not want our money being spent on genocide.

Back in the 1980s, led by Mary Manning and the Dunnes Stores strikers, Ireland stood up to the vicious apartheid regime in South Africa. That was leadership. The same leadership is required today. There is nothing left in Gaza. It has been bombed into oblivion. If we cannot stand up and show leadership in this, when, in the name of Jesus, are we going to do it? The Bill is there. Pass the occupied territories Bill in full. Make Israel answer and pay for its actions. Do justice to the suffering of the Palestinian people. Do what Irish people the length and breadth of this State want. Pass the occupied territories Bill in full.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The saying goes "The axe forgets; the tree remembers". We are a colonised people. We understand the hardship, the suffering, the genocide, the starvation and the cruelty of occupying forces. Greta Thunberg said recently: "I’m not scared of Israel. I’m scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity ...". What an unbelievable young woman that she and others have to lead the way while the world watches genocide takes place. She could have been speaking directly to the Minister of State and the Government. In a cynical move last year, like many other cynical moves they made before the election, its members committed to the occupied territories Bill. They said they would enact it. Now we have a Taoiseach who is saying it is not implementable. Shame on the Government. Its members gave their word to the people of Ireland, but even more importantly to the people of Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank, that we would lead the way in enacting the occupied territories Bill and that we would say to the world and to Israel in particular we will not stand idly by and we will do everything we can as a Government, a people and a nation to highlight the genocide that is going on.

Some 70,000 have been killed in Gaza by the Israelis. In the West Bank there have 260 settler attacks on homes, farms and people in the past month. It is the highest number ever recorded because the Israelis feel they can get away with anything. Since January, 44 children have been killed by the Israelis in the West Bank. A young lad named Mohammed got one of the blue schoolbags from UNICEF and was probably delighted. He was out playing with his friends and he was shot. The bullet passed from hip to hip, so he had no chance. He was running to his grandmother’s for safety. This Bill will not stop that, but for Mohammed and all his friends, it will send a message that we will not stand idly by and we will be the voice for the Palestinian people when the world will not be.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I extend my solidarity to the people of Palestine. We have watched in absolute horror the genocide inflicted on the people of Gaza. It is important to note that despite the ceasefire taking place, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by this brutal Israeli military machine backed by weapons supplied by America. We have watched in growing horror the violence of Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli army, the police and the judiciary. The confiscation of homes and land is growing at a frightening pace and children are being murdered weekly trying to defend their land and their homes. That is why it is so frustrating to listen to the Minister of State’s speech. I listened to the Taoiseach yesterday talk about Russia and Ukraine and if he had just switched the words to "Israel and Palestine" imagine the difference that would make to what is going on, because he talked about everything that is also happening on a massive scale in Palestine and Gaza.

There was no distinction between goods and services in the promises made by the Government prior to the election and I say that because it has changed its tune again. This is about Israel being allowed act with impunity and that impunity must end. If we do not act now against the genocidal apartheid regime in Israel, the Government’s words on Ukraine will be hollow. The Government must pass the Bill without any further delay and it must include services. We need to impose sanctions on Israel because anything less is saying to the Israelis they can continue with their genocide, with destroying Gaza, with taking over as many homes and land as they want because we will sit by and watch.

Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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Israel's genocide in Gaza is happening in real time. We see it on our news feeds on our phones. It is beyond doubt. Since October 2023, 69,500 people, the majority of them children, have been murdered by Israel. A further 217 journalists and media workers, 120 academics and 224 humanitarian workers have been killed by Israel. This is the list of crimes against humanity carried out with precision by Israel, but it did not start in October 2023. This has been done with the support of Washington and Brussels. Israel must be held to account for its actions. The recent ceasefire, while welcome, has only slowed down the genocide. Israel continues to wage a war on Palestine with its restrictions on aid, man-made famine in Gaza and the ongoing murderous settler violence in the West Bank.

Here, the people have marched in their tens of thousands demanding justice and peace for Palestine. We know only too well about colonisation, division and conflict. We also understand how important international solidarity is to a people in struggle. By enacting the occupied territories Bill, the Government can send a loud and clear message of solidarity on behalf of the people. This Bill is the minimum that should be imposed on the apartheid Israeli state. It will only affect goods and services coming from the occupied territories. The effect of the occupied territories Bill will not only solely focus on Israel, but would also affect occupiers the world over. It would send an important message to the Moroccan Government that we will not stand idly by and allow it to illegally occupy Western Sahara, which is Africa’s last colony. This occupation continues despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Morocco has no right to occupy Western Sahara. It must immediately withdraw and allow the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to determine its own future.

Both Italy and Slovenia are on the verge of enacting legislation similar to our occupied territories Bill. History will judge this Government, not on its words but on its actions. It must take strong and decisive action against Israel’s genocide and ongoing occupation of Palestine.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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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?

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We have already taken too long with the occupied territories Bill. I, like many others, do not buy the legal arguments that are made. We have often said you can get the legal advice you want on the basis of what you pay for and I do not see this as being very much different.

We have heard from many experts who say there is nothing stopping us from implementing the occupied territories Bill for goods and services now. This just needs to happen. Nearly 70,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in Gaza. We have seen starvation used as a weapon of war. At least, in fairness to Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, they have been very clear. Unlike the spokespersons who are put across the world to tell us that black is white, they have been clear in relation to what they are, which is supremacist Zionists who want to remove the Palestinian people. Benjamin Netanyahu has also always been clear that there will never be a Palestinian state. We have a ceasefire of sorts. It is very difficult to call what is being proposed a peace plan. A peace plan that does not involve absolute justice, self-determination and freedom for the Palestinian people is a waste of time.

What are we going to do? Are we going to do what the Dunnes Stores workers did? They stood up and stood up properly against apartheid in South Africa. People would have asked then what the point was but those workers played a significant role in what became a huge movement and a huge facet in the anti-apartheid battle in South Africa. We need to see this happen here. We have seen the disgrace that the European Union has been. There is the EU-Israel Association Agreement and we have seen little moves but nothing significant in relation to allowing Israel to continue as per normal while it carries out absolute heinous crimes. We know what is being proposed in the West Bank. We have seen the legislation introduced to try to ensure there is no possibility of ensuring a Palestinian state. All of this needs to be fought. The allies of Israel need to be fought at this point - those that provide it with support, resources and weapons. We need to keep the pressure on. We need to ensure the EU does the right thing around the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which it has failed to do. With the occupied territories Bill, we can, right here and now, do the right thing and stand by the Palestinian people and by promises that were made by this Government before the last election.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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However, it is about the Palestinian people; it is not about us. It is about doing the right thing.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Bogaimid ar aghaidh go dtí Páirtí an Lucht Oibre agus an Teachta Duncan Smith.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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I thank Deputies Boyd Barrett and Murphy and their colleagues for bringing this motion to the House today, which we are happy to support in a cross-party manner.

With all due respect to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, I am absolutely disgusted, for want of a better word, that the Minister is not here on her first full day, at least even for the start of the debate. Along with Ukraine, this is the only show in town from a foreign affairs point of view. This issue is the only issue that has had pre-legislative scrutiny through the foreign affairs committee, on which I am privileged enough to sit. This committee agreed that it:

strongly recommend[ed] progressing the Bill and that the prohibition of imports from the Palestinian Occupied Territories should be extended to include trade in services, in line with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice and the Resolution which Ireland co-sponsored at the United Nations General Assembly.

It was not just Opposition members of that committee who agreed this. Other ordinary Members of this House came in and contributed. Deputy Gibney came in and contributed a number of times in the pre-legislative scrutiny, as did members of the proposing groups. Members of Government on that committee agreed with the unanimous decision that services should be included. That was in the warm months of summer. We are now in the cold weeks of November. The previous Minister for foreign affairs, the Tánaiste, Deputy Harris, who in that seat during the Global Sumud Flotilla debate, committed to having the next Stage of the occupied territories Bill in this Chamber before the end of November. It is on the Dáil record. He said the end of November. It is 19 November now. Those on the business committee get indicative business for the rest of the month - Deputy Boyd Barrett will attest to this - and there is no sign of it. Another promise has been broken.

We are a year on from the election, when the Government went door to door and said that the Bill was a priority and would be passed. What has changed? First, the Government won the election so it does not have to live up to its promises. Second, we have seen an increase in pressure from mainly American lawmakers. We know the Taoiseach received a letter from Washington from 23 lawmakers and we have seen Lindsey Graham threaten Ireland consistently. Why are we marching to their tune? These 24 lawmakers comprise 5% of all of Congress. To put it in perspective, it is less than the proportion of Government support in this House coming from the Lowry group. These lawmakers from America seem to have a disproportionate impact on this issue, compared with that group. We interrogated the threats to the Irish economy through the pre-legislative scrutiny. We asked IBEC if anyone had come to it to say they were going to pull out of Ireland or were not going to increase jobs in Ireland. It could not answer. We did not just take IBEC's word for it. We had the American Chamber of Commerce in before the committee not two weeks ago. We asked the same question. We asked if any company had come to the American Chamber of Commerce and said it was going to pull out of Ireland. The answer was "No". We asked if any company had said it would not grow in Ireland. The answer was "No". All it could refer to was this mythical, vague "reputational damage".

Ireland's reputation is being increased and improved by the fact that we in opposition, starting with Senator Frances Black all those years ago, are pushing this Bill. The Government, for a moment, had a chance to continue to push that reputation and improve it. It is sacrificing that now on foot of fear and pressure from the United States. It is absolutely disgraceful. The Government says it is a Government of delivery. It should prove it. It should deliver this Bill. The Bill has already gone through pre-legislative scrutiny. We have done that work months ago. We have done our part; we are asking the Government to follow through. We believe this Bill will not be in before Christmas. If that happens, it will be 100% down to the Government. If the new Minister for foreign affairs is starting as she means to go on by not turning up to this debate and by not showing this one issue the respect, interest and import it deserves, it says everything about the Government and how it feels about the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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This is a moral test for us. In many respects, it echoes our own history. The occupied territories Bill has sat idle for about eight years now and in that time the situation in Palestine has spiralled into catastrophe. Over 67,000 lives have been lost in Gaza in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers entrenched in the West Bank. It is not a distant tragedy or anything like it. It is genocide unfolding before our eyes on a day-to-day basis. We know all about the fight against colonialism, yet as a parliament and as a nation, we hesitate. How much longer will we stand by and hesitate?

The occupied territories Bill is clear. It bans trade with illegal settlements. Goods and services produced on stolen lands should never enter Irish markets because that type of trade sustains the injustice that is happening daily in Palestine. Every euro spent on settlements goods helps to entrench an occupation that has been condemned by the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ruling in July 2024 was unequivocal. It stated that an end must be brought to all economic dealings that maintain this unlawful situation. Do we respect international law or do we ignore it when it is inconvenient? We have walked this road before. In the 1980s, we were the first western country, as has already been stated, to ban imports from apartheid South Africa. We did it because we believed no Irish hand should profit from oppression. That decision inspired others and helped to dismantle a system of racial tyranny. Today, we face that same question. Will we act now as we did then or will we betray our own history of courage? Apartheid in South Africa was propped up by trade and investment. So, too, is the occupation of Palestine. When Ireland cut ties with apartheid goods, we sent a message that resonated across the globe: injustice will not be rewarded. Why should this be any different? Why should Ireland shirk away from the very principles that once made us very proud to be Irish?

Our solidarity with Palestine is not an abstract thing; it is rooted in our shared experience. We know what it means to live under foreign rule and to see land confiscated, culture suppressed and communities shattered. From the centuries of British domination to the Famine that killed over 1 million of our people, oppression is etched in our national memory. We remember the Black and Tans terrorising our towns and we know that the same forces later exported their brutality to Palestine under the British mandate. The same empire that partitioned our island also partitioned theirs. How can we, of all people, of all nations, turn away from a people enduring what we once endured? Arthur Balfour, who signed the infamous declaration that paved the way for Palestinian dispossession, was the same man, as Chief Secretary for Ireland, who crushed Irish nationalism.

Our histories are intertwined. When we look at Gaza and the West Bank, we see echoes of our own struggle for freedom. If we do not act, who will? When Nelson Mandela visited Ireland after his release, he praised the courage of ordinary Irish workers who stood against apartheid during the Dunnes Stores strike. He said their actions demonstrated to South Africans that ordinary people far away from the crucible of apartheid cared about their freedom. He said the solidarity of Irish workers helped him to endure prison. Ireland's stand mattered then and it matters now. Will we honour that legacy or let it fade into history?

Some say this Bill is symbolic. Yes, it is symbolic but symbols matter. They ignite change. Do we want to be leaders or do we want to be laggards? The public has spoken, with 74% of Irish people supporting the Bill. Civil society, churches, trade unions and human rights groups have called for its enactment. Demonstrations outside this building almost daily demand action. Yet, the Government delays, waters down and hides behind legal smokescreens, even after EU law experts confirmed Ireland can pass the Bill without breaching EU rules. To whom are we listening? Are we listening to the Irish people or to foreign lobbyists?

History is watching us. Future generations will ask what Ireland did when genocide unfolded in Gaza and illegal settlements spread across the West Bank. Did we speak or did we act? We absolutely should pass the occupied territories Bill in full, with application to goods and services, before Christmas. There must be no more delays or excuses. Ireland must lead as it did previously and show the world that our principles are not for sale. Let us be the nation that stands for justice. Let us be the people who say Ireland will not profit from occupation, we will not be complicit in apartheid and we will act now.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this motion. We in the Social Democrats are very proud to co-sign it. I thank the many parliamentarians since 2018 who have worked on this legislation, particularly Senator Black. I also thank the people in the Gallery - the activists who continue, on a daily basis across this country, to campaign in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The weekly vigil in Monkstown at 6 p.m. on a Sunday is a thing of beauty and has been running for almost two years. The Rathdown for Palestine group waves flags at passing traffic at 5 p.m. every Thursday. There is huge momentum and a huge sense of solidarity in this country. Yet, the Government chooses to ignore that and to continue on its path of inaction.

I will reiterate the simple and succinct asks set out in the motion. They are to pass the occupied territories Bill, include services and do it all by the end of this year. On 19 November 2025, nearly a year into my role as a TD, I cannot believe I must articulate the need to fulfil those commitments. Both Government parties were clear on their absolute and unwavering commitment to act and their recognition of the sentiment of our people that this must be done. Yet, the Government has continued to prevaricate, to step into circular arguments about the Bill being symbolic and that it will make no difference and to point to people over there doing things one way and say we cannot do anything different. It is a simple enforcement of international law to pass the occupied territories Bill and prevent the State from trading with a state that is occupying another. These are the simple facts and I am trying to use simple language to move us away from the circular arguments and verbal dances the Government has created.

Its two main arguments do not stack up. The Government says the Bill is impossible to implement or it is unsure how to implement it. In fact, we did the same thing more than ten years ago with Russia. We imposed the exact same types of sanctions, on both goods and services, on another state. We can do the same again. Indeed, it is even easier now because the EU-Israel Association Agreement means we must, by law, differentiate between goods and services from Israel and goods and services from the occupied territories. The Government's other argument is that there is a legal impediment. We have heard that argument shattered again and again today. We have already seen the legal advice that supports the inclusion of services. The Government has simply chosen to recreate legal opinions to support its political decision not to include services.

The Government's lack of action is a betrayal of the trust the Irish people placed in it. We are a people who have a clear solidarity with the Palestinian cause that goes back decades and is unique across Europe and the globe. It gave us the opportunity to be the first to impose these sanctions and the first to take a case against Israel. Yet, we have wasted every opportunity to act on the mandate given to us by the Irish people. The Government's lack of action is a threat to global order. War crimes going unpunished will dismantle the decades of work people around the globe have done to maintain peace in our world. It threatens multilateralism and the rule of law. We need only look to the comparison with Russia to see this is the case.

Above all, the lack of action is failing the people of Palestine who have endured the most horrific genocide and who continue to endure in the occupied territories brutal settlement practices by the Israeli Government. I add my condemnation of the Minister, on her first day in office, for failing to be here for this debate on what she says is her biggest priority.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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For years, we have watched mothers on our television screens as they scream, cry and mourn the death of their children. We have seen children and babies covered in blood and dust as they suffer in hospitals with no medical equipment. We have seen tiny bodies covered in white cloths waiting to be buried, their family members rocking them back and forth to ease the absolute horror of holding their dead baby or child. As a mother of four, I cannot imagine holding any of my children dead in my arms. It is every single mother's worst nightmare to have a child die but it is absolutely unimaginable and incomprehensible to hold the body of a child murdered by gunshot or bombs.

On the last occasion they were in to brief to us, the doctors from Médecins Sans Frontières told us there is no colour in Gaza. It is just grey. They said people, including children, are dying as they wait in the queues to see them. These doctors are working with no medicine, no pain relief and no possibility of saving people.

Since I was elected almost a year ago, I have received thousands of emails from people begging me to do something. I am sure every Member on the Government side receives the same emails. It is absolutely galling that there is no Government Member other than the Minister of State in the Chamber for this debate. The power lies with the Government to pass the occupied territories Bill. The parties of government made promises in the elections last year but they have done nothing. Are they waiting for more children to be murdered and the genocide to continue? Every minute the Government waits is an absolute shame on every single Member on that side of the House.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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One of the most frustrating aspects of this is that the Irish people have shown leadership where the Government has failed. No other country has seen the level of protests, mobilisation and community action there has been in every one of our cities, towns and villages. We have seen Irish people take action on a daily basis in support of and in solidarity with Palestine. The Irish people gave the Government a mandate no other government in the world has been given, which was to take the strongest possible action to sanction Israel. The Government has squandered that mandate and refused to listen to the Irish people on our unique position as a former colonised country and one that has gone through famine.

The Irish people feel the pain of Gaza in a way unlike any other country because of what we have gone through in our history. That has given the Government a unique political mandate to stand out from all other countries and say we will take action against Israel because the people of Ireland understand occupation, famine and mass genocide and we cannot stand by and let this happen in our name. It is absolutely pathetic that Government members stand up in the Dáil and say the Opposition never congratulates them on doing more than any other country. They speak words but where is the action? The Government could be sanctioning Israel and implementing the occupied territories Bill.

It should use the mandate the people have given it. It knows that the Occupied Territories Bill has overwhelming support in this country and it should implement it in full anois, now. Saoirse don Phalaistín.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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I commend People Before Profit on its motion. The obstruction of the Occupied Territories Bill for the past six years since it was passed by a majority of TDs has shown up the utter hypocrisy of the Government when it speaks of the rule of international law, of the sanctity of human rights and of the importance of protecting our democracy from interference by nefarious regimes such as Russia. There was a cynical show of support for the Bill to win votes in advance of the general election last year followed by the rubbishing of the Bill by the Taoiseach, who said immediately afterwards that "virtually every section" of the Bill would need to be amended. This is a Bill his own party introduced to the Dáil in 2019 on behalf of Senator Black. The sound legal basis of this Bill has been established by a range of Irish and international experts, among them the former justice Minister and Attorney General, Senator Michael McDowell, who is not known for being on the radical left. The foreign affairs committee recommended the inclusion in the Bill of goods and services. How can you continue to argue against it, and to delay and dilute it, as Palestinians in the West Bank are subjected to unprecedented cycles of abuse and harassment from extremist settlers? Property in the West Bank is routinely ransacked, demolished or taken over; families are terrorised off their land; farm animals are mutilated; and olive plantations are razed to the ground. All of this after Gaza has been destroyed with psychopathic relish by the Israeli army. To continue appeasing these thugs and terrorists is morally bankrupt. I do not know Senator Black has maintained such a level of diplomatic calm and civility with this Government and the previous two Governments over all these years of deceit and deflection. It is a disgrace how you have treated her as the lead campaigner on this Bill; how you have taken such a haughty, moral-high-ground position of Ireland having done more for the Palestinians than any other country; and how you have allowed our democratic process to be interfered with by a rogue state for the past six years. The Government needs to pass the legislation, include goods and services, and stop the deceit.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo inniu. Gabhaim buíochas leis an nGrúpa Teicniúil um Neamhspleáigh agus Páirtithe as an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála.

The disaster unfolding in Gaza and Palestine is absolutely horrific. It is a significant stain on the international community that it has been allowed to proceed in the manner it has. The images we have seen over the past number of years of an enormously powerful, well-armed Israel Defense Forces absolutely crushing a very poor, unarmed state right beside it are incredible. The injustice of the disparity between the two states is shocking. It has been allowed to proceed. It has been underwritten by the West and by the United States of America. Many countries like Ireland have spoken but in general, for practical purposes, have sat on the sidelines. I believe they have played a role in underwriting it as well.

It is a human disaster. I recall when I was young, there were three intractable conflicts - Palestine, the North of Ireland and South Africa. It is incredible that both here in Ireland and in South Africa we have moved past those conflicts, yet Palestine is still locked into an intractable conflict 20 or 30 years later. It frustrates me because Ireland has a proud history in terms of democracy, anti-colonialism, pushing back against nuclear proliferation and pushing for self-determination across the world. In relation to this, we have been laggards in fulfilling our responsibilities. Many Irish people see themselves in the eyes of Palestinian people because our histories are so similar. During the plantation of Ulster, Irish people lost their property and homelands to people coming from Scotland and England at the time. That sowed the seeds for 400 years of conflict. One of the most damaging things to do is to occupy a location, take territory off a location, steal homesteads, property and farms off people, remove them from those locations and simply occupy that area because that grievance does not disappear. It exists for generations beyond that. In terms of Israel's own defence and security, it is sowing the seeds of future damage to its country in the occupation of the West Bank. The use of famine in recent times as a tool of war again strikes a chord with so many Irish people. We suffered shockingly. I think Ireland is the only country in the whole world whose population is still lower today than it was in the 1840s. It is so hard to see.

A big frustration of mine is that the Government is speaking from both sides of its mouth on this issue. One of the easiest ways for a government to say no is to say yes and do nothing. That is exactly what the strategy is here. I have seen so many campaign groups come to the gates of Leinster House and TDs file out, get their photographs taken, put their arms around them, have a smile with them and then come back in here and do nothing. There is a disaster in that because the Government is not telling the truth about its purpose and motivation in relation to this. It is incredible that this passed Second Stage in 2018 - nearly eight years ago - and it has languished on Committee Stage since then. I do not believe the Government has the desire to see this through. As a result, I do not believe Ireland is using its potential position as a catalyst internationally to create the momentum that is necessary economically to check the actions of the Israeli state. That is a major loss and a major mistake. It is a dereliction of duty. There is a responsibility that comes with that. By not acting in those terms, we become responsible for the consequences. Those consequences are dire; they are shocking. They include the atomisation of young children by bombs in tents in places like Gaza and the stealing of land from families in the West Bank. The Government needs to get its act together and implement this legislation ASAP.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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If you did a search of the contributions I have made in this Chamber since my re-election in November of last year, you would find that Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine in general will come up top. That is a sadness for me. The relentless genocide in Gaza is continuing, as is the ongoing occupation of the West Bank, including settlers murdering innocent people in the past week. It is ongoing. It is a systematic tearing apart of the West Bank. I mentioned in previous contributions that the Israeli state - either directly, or by letting the settlers get on with it - is dividing the West Bank in such a way as to make it totally unviable as a territory. It is a deliberate policy, just like the systematic starvation and indiscriminate murder of Palestinian women, children and male civilians was also part of a policy.

This is something Ireland gets a lot of criticism for. An Israeli constituent of mine contacted me recently. They are a little bit behind the curve but they saw one of my speeches and said they would never vote for me again because I described what Israel is doing in Gaza as genocide. Well, I am sorry but the facts are the facts. To give credit to the Government, it has participated in the South Africa ICJ case along with Belgium and Spain. Some European countries have shown leadership. Ireland is to be commended on that. I hope the final judgment in legal terms will be in our favour to put additional pressure on the Israeli state. Any objective analyst has described what is happening in Gaza as genocide. We have a body of work to do to assist. I am not talking about financial contributions because that could actually do them more harm than good. There are a lot of decent, peace-minded people living in Israel who need our support. Most of all, they need access to unbiased information about what is happening because they are not getting it in their own country. It comes back to Israelis living in this country who think we are an antisemitic country. We do not have a proud history.

We had a very mealy-mouthed attitude to dealing with Jewish refugees after the Second World War. That is to our shame. As a member of the EU, we have a huge impact on other member states. I referred before to a meeting with the Danish ambassador. Because Denmark did a lot of work rescuing Danish Jews during the Second World War, they have a certain relationship with Israel which they do not want to damage. I said that friends have to tell the truth to their friends. The same thing happens with the US. My question for the Minister and Cabinet colleagues is why it is now taking so long when earlier indications were that there were a few tweaks to go into Senator Black's Bill. Senator Black herself was reasonably optimistic and was taking on board some of the arguments and points that were being made, and wanted to move on.

When I raised this after the summer recess, my impression from previous Government statements was that a lot of work would have been done over the summer and that we were ready to have the legislation passed through the Houses before Christmas. We are nowhere near that stage. Has the United States Government, in any way, shape or form, verbally or in writing, put pressure on the Irish Government not to proceed with this Bill? If any such threats have been made, they need to be put into the public domain. The reason the Irish people are so pro-Palestine is that we have empathy and compassion for a people who have been oppressed, because of our own history of oppression. Work has been done and I will give the Minister of State credit for that but we have a moral imperative to bring this legislation as far as it will go. If the Minister says it is unworkable, let us test it to see if that is the case. Otherwise, we are just hiding in plain sight. We have to do better than this. We have to bring this legislation through all the Houses of the Oireachtas and show some moral courage and leadership.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I would like to join with Deputy Gogarty's point about the emails we get. We all get thousands of emails about what we need to do, but we also get the negative ones from the other side. After I came back from my humanitarian mission, I can sympathise with the Deputy about how there is a strong lobby against this. We have to really focus on this. The decision should be straightforward. When I was sitting over there, I was supporting the Government. I still am. I was told that if we amended it, it would be done within six months. It has now been 11 months. The only time I have ever voted against this Government was for Palestine and I will continue to do that. I am committed to the programme for Government. I am not shouting at the Minister of State, Deputy Moran. He was in negotiations with me and knew I was fighting for Palestine in there. We have a commitment for this. Before the election, the Government parties had a commitment to this. We have the strongest mandate possible. Look at what the Spanish are doing. They have done it. Look at what South Africa is doing. I do commend the Government on joining the ICJ case but I am disappointed with the delays, the excuses and, as everyone has said, the verbal dances. I met Senator Frances Black and she has shown so much patience, dignity and resolve. The rest of us should learn from her. She carried this legislation further and for longer than she should have had to. Patience cannot be extended any longer. Again, I urge the Government not to oppose this motion but to immediately enact it.

The Geneva Convention did not fall out of the sky. "Never again" means for everyone. I have been on the phone to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank who I am now friends with. There is a young Palestinian living in Marino in my constituency, Amir. His family are in Gaza. His house has been blown up. His mother and father were doctors. All of their life savings are gone. They have nothing to go back to. How can I knock on his door again and not tell him that I did everything I could possibly do for him? That is the only reason I will not ever do it again. The international community has suggested that we did not know, that we were not sure, that we needed more time. It has been too long for that. Hundreds of thousands are dead. We do know. It is on our screens. How many reports have there been from the UN? Every country is now recognising the Palestinian state. What good is recognising a state that is on its knees, completely crumbled? I recognise what Deputy Gogarty said; we do know occupation. When our ancestors with grass-stained faces were on the side of the ditch during the occupation of country, would we not have liked another country to stand with us? We did have the Choctaw Nation. We did have the Ottoman Empire deliver three ships of grain, despite the UK insisting that they send only one ship. What country was in the Ottoman Empire at the time? Palestine. They were under occupation at that time but we will not talk about that.

The Irish people outside this Chamber sometimes know about moral clarity. Over the past year, I have seen thousands of young people on the streets. Many of them are just so frustrated. When I am going to these doors, this is one of the main issues people still see. We need to do it immediately. These people out protesting are not extremists. They are not disrupters. They are the conscience of this country. I saw it in my own constituency two weeks ago with the Hope Palestine action, great northsiders who cycled and raised money for Doctors Without Borders. They understood that humanitarian organisations are often the last lifeline when politics fails.

I stood on the flotilla. When we were illegally abducted by the IOF, when I had a gun pointed at my head and was called an Irish terrorist, when we were mocked, I was told that Ireland is the most antisemitic country in the world. We are not antisemitic. We had Israelis on the flotilla with us who are against the current government. I have spoken to Israelis who are against what the current government is doing. When we are called antisemitic, we need to be clear and say we are not antisemitic. We are anti-Zionist and against what the current Israeli state is doing. When a TD and a Senator are illegally abducted, mocked and brutalised against every international law - look at where we were abducted - does Israel not have to abide by international law? It clearly has not. All the activists who went on those flotillas did not do it to be on the selfie yacht, as Israel portrayed. They did it to bring aid and open a humanitarian corridor to a population that is facing genocide and famine. Doctors Without Borders was in here last week talking about the struggles it is having getting the aid in. This is not directed at the Minister of State. I have spoken to him and know he is on the same side on this.

Ireland has always claimed to stand with the oppressed, from the anti-apartheid struggle, which I heard Deputies mention, to the Good Friday Agreement. We have never been neutral on injustice and we must not be neutral now. We have such great political power as a nation. As a small population, we are respected worldwide, which is why the enactment of this Bill will hopefully trigger more countries to act, like Spain has already done and as Belgium, Norway and other countries are now considering in their parliaments. Passing the occupied territories Bill does not make us radical. It makes us consistent and credible. It makes us Irish. We have done this before with South Africa. We triggered a bulldozer effect that led to peace and a solution. As Deputy Gogarty says, we know famine, occupation and hunger strikes. I bring attention also to the prisoners across England engaged in a rolling hunger strike for Palestine, refusing food to protest the repression of the Palestine Action group and the denial of the basic legal rights they are facing. Some are already in serious medical distress, with healthcare withheld and punitive measures imposed, yet they continue their strike in solidarity with the Palestinian people. They are joined by prisoners internationally, from Italy to the United States, showing that this struggle crosses borders. Their courage and refusal to be silenced, and their willingness to put their own bodies on the line, demand our attention and our action.

I ask the Government today to honour the commitment it made to the Irish people, to honour the commitments it made to me during the Government formation and to honour the people who voted on those commitments. I always say that in politics you give a contract to your constituency on what you are planning to do. If you do not break that contract with your constituency, it will not break its contract with you. However, we are breaking that contract. We said we would enact the occupied territories Bill. Eleven months on and it has been kicked down the road. I ask the Government to honour its commitments and to honour international law - legal obligations we proudly say we defend - because history will not remember the delays but it will remember how and whether we acted. Right now, we are not acting.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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It is clear the strength of opinion held across the House on the situation in Gaza and, indeed, in the West Bank and on the importance attached to this draft legislation. The programme for Government commitments to prohibiting the imports of goods from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The general scheme before the House delivers on this commitment. Trade and services are considerably more complex than is the case with goods. There remains considerable legal uncertainty as whether the inclusion of services is permissible under EU law. We also have to take account of practical issues with regard to implementation where services are to be included in the scope of this Bill. By their very nature, services are varied, intangible and do not lend themselves to ready identification in the same way that goods do.

The Government fully understands the depth of feeling on the subject of Palestine and is making every effort to contribute to work at EU and international levels to bring the current conflict to the end while continuing to work on a long-term solution.

The Government also understands the urge to do more, to force the dial and bring an end to the horrific suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike. I wish to take the opportunity today to take stock of the contribution Ireland has made to date. The Government has not been a bystander in the face of tragic events. We have at all times sought to take action, both to address immediate needs and to make a longer-term contribution to peace and stability in the Middle East. Ireland's principal stance, backed up by concrete actions, has been widely acknowledging, including by partners in the region.

As Deputies will remember, Ireland recognised the State of Palestine long before the UN high-level conference on the two-state solution, which took place earlier this year. This was a step we took alongside Norway and Spain in May 2024. At the EU level, Ireland has been to the forefront in calling for appropriate European action in response to Israel's breaches of international law, often advocating for policies at an early stage that have later garnered widespread support. Ireland led the way on the proposal to review Israel's compliance to article 2 of the association agreement, first proposing this step alongside Spain in February 2024. The European External Action Service's subsequent review found that Israel is in breach of its human obligations. This is no surprise to anybody in this Chamber.

In September 2025, the European Commission announced a package of proposals in light of this review, including a proposal to suspend the core trade related provisions of the EU-Israel association agreement. Ireland has consistently called for the EU to take concrete action in response to egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles. We have made clear our view that the EU must keep these proposals on the table regardless.

Ireland strongly supported successive rounds of EU sanctions against violent Israeli settlers under its global human rights sanctions agreement adopted in April and July 2024. We support further recent proposals from the European Commission to sanction extremist Israeli ministers and violent settlers as well as Hamas.

Ireland along with nine other EU member states also wrote to the High Representative and Vice President calling for the EU to undertake a detailed review of its compliance with the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, ICJ. We are taking extensive actions at the international level in response to the situation in Gaza and the West Bank and in support of the people of Palestine. Through our work as a co-chair of a working group alongside Türkiye, we are one of a small number of EU member states that played a central role at the high-level UN conference on implementing the two-state solution held in New York last July. The outcome document of the conference - the New York declaration - was endorsed by 142 countries in a vote at the UN General Assembly. The Taoiseach attended a reconvened session of the conference during the UN high-level week in September where he called for a political path to end the cycle of violence.

We also welcomed that a number of states took steps towards the recognition of the State of Palestine in the lead up to and during the UN high-level week last September. The working connection with the UN high-level conference and its output is an expression of relationships that we have developed, including with partners in the region in relation to the shared goals in support of the two-state solution. Ireland has been an active participant in the seven meetings of the global alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution that have taken place since its establishment at UN high-level week last year. We will be hosting a meeting of the global alliance in Ireland in January 2026.

Ireland is also pursuing action through the international courts to address breaches of international law and international humanitarian law in Gaza and the West Bank. On 22 October 2025, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the obligations of Israel in relation to the United Nations and other international organisations as well as third states in the occupied Palestinian territory. We have welcomed the advisory opinion which authoritatively affirms Israel's obligation under international law in relation to the presence and activities of the UN, other international organisations and third states in and regarding the occupied Palestinian territory.

In January, Ireland filed a declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in South Africa's case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. In February, Ireland filed a detailed written submission with the ICJ on advisory proceedings concerning the obligations of Israel in relation to the United Nations and other international organisations as well as third states in the occupied Palestinian territory. On 19 July 2024, the ICJ delivered an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Ireland filed a detailed written submission to the court and the Attorney General on behalf of the governments that participated in our hearings. Ireland subsequently cosponsored a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September 2024, which seeks to implement the court's advisory opinion.

On consular assistance, the Department of foreign affairs has supported approximately 300 people to leave Gaza and travel to Ireland. This includes Irish citizens and their immediate dependants, scholarship students and individuals of critical skills who have employment in Ireland. The Department has conducted eight complex evacuation operations from Gaza over the past six months after borders reopened in April. In 2024, the Government approved the evacuation of up to 30 sick children from Gaza to Ireland for treatment and care. A total of 21 patients have already been medically evacuated to Ireland, along with 52 accompanying family members. The Department of Health and the HSE continues to engage with the World Health Organization, WHO, and the EU to provide further missions.

Our financial and humanitarian response to the situation in Gaza has also been significant. Ireland has provided over €101 million in support to the people of Palestine since January 2023. More than €89 million has been provided since October 2023. This includes €20 million in core support to the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, this year which brings our support to €58 million since 2023. That additional €6 million brought Ireland's support to the people of Palestine to over €35 million this year. This €6 million will be allocated to Ireland's UN partners, including €2 million to UNICEF, €2 million to United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, €1 million to the World Food Programme and €1 million to WHO. Ireland has provided 177 tonnes of supplies, including tents, blankets, water, cans and other vital household items to Gaza under Ireland's rapid response initiative.

In September, Ireland joined the emergency coalition for the financial stability of the Palestinian Authority. The coalition was established in response to the urgent and unprecedented financial crisis confronting the Palestinian Authority. The officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in headquarters and throughout the mission network, particularly in the region, continue to work tirelessly to represent Ireland's strong position on the conflict based on the fundamental principles of international law. Ireland's position - the fundamental belief that all states must adhere to international law - has never faltered. What we can do and do can make a difference. Ireland's engagement on the issue has not waned and will not. We will continue our work to promote peace and a path towards a negotiated two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in real peace and security.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. It is long past time we passed the occupied territories Bill. We have a moral and legal duty to do so. There can be no half measures. Even if we are being bullied or leaned on by the richest people in the USA, we still have to go ahead and do so. We passed sanctions against Russia, quite correctly, and we need to stop the pussyfooting on the occupied territories Bill - no half measures. There have been no half measures from the terrorist state of Israel in the past two years: hospitals, places of prayer and tents housing refugees who are fleeing; women, children and men slaughtered; ambulance crews bombed; and aerial bombardment on a scale I have never seen before. The State of Israel has used Palestinian boys and girls as target practice for its soldiers. Throughout all the genocide and terror of the past two years, it has continued the campaign of murder and intimidation of people in the West Bank. That continues.

That is why this Bill is so important. We all know what the game plan of Israel is. It is to make sure that there cannot be a two-state solution, break up the West Bank in so many small pieces, make all the farms and businesses unviable and intimidate Palestinian communities out of their homes so as Israel can fully occupy their lands. Israel has bulldozed crops, farmsteads, businesses and homes right throughout the past two years while its campaign of slaughter in Gaza has continued, bullying families off their own land and replacing them with Yankees from Dixieland and North Carolina simply on the basis that they are Jewish. I do not care about anybody's religion. I do not care what religion anybody is. That has nothing to do with it. This is about right and wrong. This has been wrong from the beginning and we have to stand up for what is right. Israel's plan is to make the two-state solution unviable, and that is why we must stand firm on this.

The EU's response - and I know the Minister of State has a special responsibility here - has been absolutely disgraceful. The EU-Israel trade agreement should have been halted a long time ago. We are not powerless here to take action. We may be a small enough State. We took the decision to recognise the State of Palestine in this Chamber about a decade ago, and since then several other states have done so. We set an example 40 years ago. In fact, the women in Dunnes Stores here in Dublin set the example when they refused to handle South African fruit. That set in train a worldwide boycott of South African goods that brought to its knees the apartheid regime in South Africa, a regime that a lot of people thought could not be brought down.

We must stop pussyfooting. We are a neutral State. Given the scale of suffering of the Palestinian people and the slaughter and genocide carried out by the terrorist state of Israel, we must act. We have an absolute moral and legal responsibility to do that. I remind the Minister of State of the election promises made by the Government parties. We are a neutral state. International law is very clear. We have a responsibility to act. We cannot have any more excuses. It has gone long past time. I appeal to the Minister of State and the Government to do the right thing. It is disappointing to see all the Government benches empty. The Minister of State is here, he has a role in terms of his Government brief on this and he takes an interest in it but this is shocking. This is really important legislation. We have been dancing around it all year. We have a few weeks left in this Chamber between now and Christmas. Let us do the right thing and pass this Bill.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party and Independent colleagues who have supported and co-sponsored this motion. I thank Senator Frances Black for her ongoing efforts since she instigated this Bill in 2018. Most importantly, I thank the hundreds of thousands of people in this country who have mobilised again and again in unprecedented protests in every city, town, village and hamlet of the country against the genocidal horror that Israel has been inflicting on the Palestinian people over the past two years. All those people can see the political and moral bankruptcy of this Government when it comes to the issue of Palestine. The speech that was given really is shameful. This starts with the failure of the new Minister to come in here. People who are not familiar with how this place works need to understand that the Minister's absence is a studied exercise in contempt designed to make sure that this debate does not get any media coverage. That is why the Government has done that. It did not want this to get attention, even though it was clear it was the issue on which the Minister was under pressure. She spoke about it yesterday night on television and said she would talk to her Government colleagues about it today but she did not bother to come into the Dáil, the democratically elected Chamber of these Houses, where it is being discussed, to discuss it. It is a studied exercise in contempt and it speaks volumes about the Government's strategy on this issue for years, speaking out of both sides of its mouth on the issue of Palestine, mouthing solidarity but doing absolutely nothing - not a single sanction against the State of Israel.

I have been campaigning for and advocating sanctions on Israel since 1987, when I was in Palestine, because I was so shocked by the regime that exists there and the endemic racism and apartheid against the Palestinian people. There have been people campaigning in this country all those years, more than 30 years, demanding the end of the State of Israel's impunity for the ongoing crimes it has been committing since 1948. In fact, the Zionist movement has been committing crimes against Palestinians since before 1948 and has been explicit about it. Zionism is clear: Zionists intend to ethnically cleanse Palestine. Zionism is genocidal in its very nature and character. There have been decades of ethnic cleansing and apartheid, the siege of Gaza and then the genocide of the past two years, with still not a single sanction from this Government.

The bankruptcy of the EU is equally on display. Last night the Minister and the Taoiseach came in here and said it was absolutely essential to impose sanctions and they imposed 19 different rounds of sanctions. That was done almost instantaneously. The double standards are absolutely clear. It is only really because of the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people that we have what is not even a ceasefire. Israel killed 13 people in Lebanon last night and has killed about 260 people since the so-called ceasefire, which was forced on Israel and Donald Trump. That is what happened. Trump even admitted it when he said he rang up Netanyahu and told him they could not take on the world. That is what he said. They were forced into the ceasefire. The Minister of State's speech thanks the United States for their efforts in bringing about a ceasefire. Is he joking? Israel could not continue the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the illegal settlements and the genocidal horror it has inflicted on Gaza were it not for that "complicity", although that is too weak a word. Israel is simply acting as an outpost of US foreign policy, something Biden admitted when he said, "Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel". They would have to station US troops in the Middle East because this is all about American colonial and imperial control of that region, collaborating with brutal dictatorships and then with the State of Israel as their military watchdog to slap down any attempt by the people of that region to assert their right to self-determination. That is what it is about. It is absolutely shocking that the Government has failed to do anything about it but that is the truth. The Government is dancing to the tune of Trump and so on but showing utter contempt for the people of this country, for democracy and for the solemn promises the Government made. It was forced to make them in the run-up to the election because it knew what the people of this country wanted and demanded.

The Government said it before the general election and then rolled back on it and did absolutely nothing because it is dancing to the tune of Trump and the US Administration. It is shameful. End this shameful failure to act and finally act against this regime for its criminal brutality, oppression and genocidal actions against the Palestinian people and pass this Bill. The Government should be doing a hell of a lot more. We should be completely boycotting the State of Israel. Can the Government at least do what it said what it would do?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is a joke. They have no intention of doing anything.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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That is the will of the Dáil.