Results 261-280 of 289 for speaker:Patricia Stephenson

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank Mr. Shatter very much. Earlier, he spoke a little about the peace process. He might be able to tell I am from the North. Regarding our own peace in Northern Ireland, the Mitchell principles set out that peace negotiations can work only when all parties agree to ceasefire activity, having regard to international law. In the context of what we are seeing now, Israel is quite...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank Mr. Shatter. I have a got few seconds left, so I will make the most of my time. Mr. Shatter said that this Bill is a matter of consensus in the political bubble only, but polling in the Irish Independent just a few weeks ago showed an overwhelming majority of the Irish public support the Bill. I believe the number is 74%. The public support a ban on trade in goods, and indeed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I specifically thank Ms Al Tamimi for coming in. It is not easy to talk about things that are impacting your family and loved ones in this kind of setting. I am sure it can be quite emotional and exhausting, so I thank her. The ICJ last year found that Israel’s legislation and measures impose and serve to maintain a near complete separation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (15 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I suppose Mr. Shatter recognises, then, that there is diversity of opinion within the Jewish community and Israeli state.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank Mr. O’Brien. It is coming to the end of the meeting and I appreciate that this can be quite tiring. Mr. O’Brien has just spoken about the inability to quantify the services dimension. I am just a bit confused about that in the context of the EU–Israel trade agreement. It is true that companies are obliged to make a distinction between goods and services...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I would be deeply concerned about that. I am not saying anyone is in breach of anything but, basically, under the EU-Israel trade agreement as it stands, there is a specific distinction to be made between the occupied territories and Israel for all types of trade. It would be great to get a response to determine whether IBEC members are making the distinction, because it is required under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: That is great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I do not think the world has moved on so much in a decade that it would not still apply. Does Mr. O’Brien accept that prohibiting companies from providing services to occupied territories is in fact doable if it was done in the case of the 2014 legislation on Crimea? What would be the various contexts? Mr. O’Brien has pointed to different ways of working but I would love the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: My question is really on practical implementation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: What is the difference?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: In the recent past, services trade with occupied territories has been prohibited under Irish law.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Would Mr. O’Brien agree with that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I understand that, and that------

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I understand the point on struggling. That comes back to my first point, on companies’ obligation under the EU–Israel trade agreement. Clarity on this is desperately required, just to make sure companies operating in Ireland are currently meeting the obligation under the EU–Israel trade agreement to make a distinction between trade of all sorts in Israel and that in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Yes, but the context is that the companies should already be doing what is required, which should facilitate their doing so again under new legislation. That is the foundational aspect of my comment. I will move on from that point, having noted the Chair’s position. We have talked about risk for small companies under existing US law should this Bill be passed. Does O’Brien...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Would Mr. O’Brien hold that position in the context of the fact that we have legislation that we are beholden to, namely the Geneva Conventions Act and the International Criminal Court Act, that states we should not be trading with the illegal settlements?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: We heard from the legal experts among the Department officials that if we only applied the legislation to goods and not services, we would be only partially compliant with the ICJ ruling. We have that legal advice. How does Mr. O'Brien feel about that information from the officials from the Department of foreign affairs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Our obligations under international law, as a result of the ICJ ruling, include trade in services. Does IBEC feel we should be meeting those obligations?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: At international level as well as EU level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: The EU and international level, in Mr. O'Brien's opinion. Both are required to suffice.