Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague for sharing time with me. I welcome the Minister. I am well aware that he is very concerned about and interested in this issue.

In 2002 or 2003 I established the Friends of Palestine group with about 100 people in the Oireachtas. It was chaired by the then Deputy Michael D. Higgins, now President of Ireland. At the time I travelled to Palestine with former Deputies Eamon Gilmore and John Gormley, the late Tony Gregory, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, the then Senator John Paul Phelan, now a Minister of State. I led the delegation. We witnessed at first hand the effects of the settlements and saw raw sewage being poured onto small farms in the occupied territories. That is a fact. Is this the right way to assert influence in the settlement of the problems in the region?

When I was a Minister of State with responsibility for trade and marketing, I travelled to the Islamic Republic of Iran and many other countries to promote trade with this country. We should remember that a boycott is a two-edged sword. If we boycott goods from Palestine, we could boycott the export of goods from Crimea which is occupied by the Russian Federation. We could also boycott goods from Cyprus which is occupied by Turkey. We could boycott all goods from China which occupies Tibet. Ukraine is occupied, as is Northern Ireland. We could go down that road very easily.

In 2017 we exported $868 million dollars worth of goods to Israel, from where we imported $63 million dollars worth of goods. These at the facts I have at my disposal. The World Bank has stated goods to the value of about $1.6 billion have been exported during the years. We should bear this in mind. The repercussions would be serious.The repercussions are serious. Boycotts are serious. I do not recall a Bill being introduced here when South Africa had apartheid. The boycott was carried out by the workers in Dunnes Stores and followed up by the public. I would certainly boycott products coming from occupied territories sold by the Israelis on the international market, but it is a different thing for a state to involve itself directly in this area. I advise caution. Like the Minister, my heart is behind this. I was there and I witnessed the situation at first hand, as did the Minister. We were not allowed into Gaza, which is an open prison. We have no doubt about what is happening in that region, but introducing a boycott would mean one would lose one's influence to go to Israel and make the point to the Israeli Government about what one feels. We will continue the argument in that regard.

In terms of the Bill and the respect and support it will be offered this afternoon, I have been trying to introduce a Private Members' Bill for approximately ten years and I have failed. Senator Frances Black should not bet her bottom dollar that this Bill will ever become legislation. Let us be clear about that. The process in this House is very slow. Very few Private Members' Bills get through. There is a question about the Bill's legality and our responsibility under European Union law. The Attorney General, whom I respect, has given advice in that regard. I issue that health warning. I am very concerned about the effect a boycott could have on jobs in this country. We need every job possible. We are facing a terrible dilemma in relation to Brexit and at this point we can ill afford another trade war with another country which has a legitimately elected government. We are in favour of the two-state solution. The late Brian Lenihan senior was the first Minister in this country and Europe to bring forward the right of Palestinians to self-determination and their own country.