Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support this motion wholeheartedly. The purpose of the amendment confuses me. It asks the bank to explain why it has closed a bank account, which is something it has already refused to do. It did not meet the campaign group in question when it wanted to shut its account down. It is a worrying sign that one of our national financial institutions has judged that it has the power to cut off its services to a group engaged in worthwhile advocacy work on an issue of vital importance to the people of Palestine and all those who support the Palestinian people here in Ireland.

Anyone who has ever run a campaign or been involved in advocacy knows the crucial role that adequate and accessible funding plays in determining the successful achievement of goals. One must be able to create a clear route of access to the financial contributions of supporters, a secure place to store funds and an easily accessible method to disperse those funds as required by the financial necessities of the campaign one is running. As soon as this cycle of activity is disrupted, irreparable damage may be caused to the practical activities of the organisation and to organisational reputation. Bills and invoices go unpaid, donations and contributions go unreturned and work comes to a standstill.

This is what the Bank of Ireland has done to the Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. With scant notice, the bank cut off all possible financing to the campaign without even allowing it enough time to make alternative financial arrangements or to notify supporters of the need to change the destination of regular donations. This is unacceptable. I note media reports that the Bank of Ireland's decision was rooted in the view that the campaign's activities did not fit with the bank's appetite for risk due to its designation of Palestine as a high risk country. This was despite the fact that the majority of the campaign's funding is spent domestically here in Ireland to raise awareness. The only money the campaign sent to Palestine was to a factory in the West Bank to buy clothing as a show of solidarity, not to fund directly any activities there at all. That none of this was taken into consideration by Bank of Ireland further underlines the arbitrary and ill-thought-out nature of the decision.

I fully support the motion and I question the motive of Fianna Fáil in putting down an amendment.