Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is my pleasure to welcome my neighbour, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee to the House. I applaud the effective way in which she represents our country on the international stage and particularly in Europe.

I am impressed by the way in which we are going about this business today because this is an extraordinarily sensitive topic. We are talking here about a very difficult situation. I will try to adhere to the respectful tone with my own contribution. The people who support the Bill are rightly anxious to establish that they are not anti-Semitic. Those of us who do not support the Bill are similarly anxious to establish that we are not anti-Palestinian. Quite the contrary, in fact; we are conscious of Palestinian suffering and are supportive of the Palestinian people. Like colleagues who spoke earlier, we are also acutely and profoundly aware of the history of the Jewish people over centuries and the extraordinary suffering and unspeakable barbarism inflicted on them. However, that cannot, by extension, make us not want to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people now.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has made the middle eastern question a Government priority, second only to Brexit. He has made numerous visits to the middle east and to the occupied territories. He is genuinely committed to doing something about the conflict. I believe that the Tánaiste has the respect of Members on both sides of the House and I doubt that anyone would question his bona fides or his competence. He is of the view, which he expressed previously in this House, that it would be more effective for us to stay within the framework of the EU efforts to resolve the problems in the middle east and not to act unilaterally. We must take account of what he has said in that regard. I reiterate that those of us who do not support the Bill have the same objection to illegal settlements as those who support it. Ireland is a participant in the Europe-wide regime of sanctions at the moment. Those sanctions relate to tariffs and labelling. We are supportive of them and were to the forefront in trying to achieve them.

Senator McDowell, who is a distinguished former Attorney General himself, accepts that a Government in office cannot not ignore or fail to take account of the advice Attorney General. The entire apparatus of government could not function were that premise set aside because it would suggest a lack of confidence in the Attorney General. That in itself would raise another set of questions. The Minister of State has made the point that the Attorney General is of the view that there is a risk of dangerous legal actions for the State in this regard. Were they to be taken and to be successful, that would set back the Palestinian cause rather than helping it.

There are practical difficulties to implementing this legislation. Goods could be imported from a third country, goods that were manufactured by another EU trading partner, for example, parts of which originated in the settlements. How will this law be implemented by Ireland unilaterally? How do we do it, business by business? It raises difficult administrative questions.

Finally, this has been an extraordinarily mature debate and never once have those of us who oppose the Bill doubted the bona fides, good motivation and sincerity of Senator Black and those supporting her. However, we must do our job by drawing attention to the perspective of the Tánaiste in achieving a peace process, the considered legal opinion of the Attorney General and the fact that this will present practical difficulties in its implementation.