Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also want to acknowledge the efforts made in framing the Bill to differentiate between illegal settlements and Israel itself. It is not an effort to impose a boycott divestment sanctions policy, which the Government would wholly oppose. However, the Bill proposes to regulate international trade, which, ultimately, is a matter of exclusive EU competence, falling under the EU's common commercial policy. This is not a matter on which Ireland can act alone, and if we were tempted to do so, infringement proceedings could be taken against the State for breaching EU law. This might be the impact rather than the powerfully political impact which the framers of the Bill have aimed for with regard to settlements.

Some in the House have also raised the possibility of Ireland recognising the state of Palestine, and I assure the House the Government remains committed to doing this as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict. Ireland has long looked forward to being able to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state, but the Government must consider carefully whether recognition by Ireland now, at this point in time, of a state of Palestine, prior to its actual achievement on the ground, would be a helpful step towards that goal. We have not yet concluded that immediate recognition by Ireland would be a helpful step in our efforts to move the peace process forward, but I assure the House this matter is being kept under continuous review-----