Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I second the proposed amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 21 be taken before No. 1.

The other issue I want to highlight is announcements this week by Western Sahara Resource Watch, which published its tenth in a row detailed annual overview of the companies involved in the purchase of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. The illegally exported and exploited phosphate rock is one of the Moroccan Government's main sources of income from the territory, which it is holding without a mandate under international law. In 2022, a total of 23 vessels departed the territory with 1.23 million tonnes of phosphate rock. The practical doubling of global phosphate prices during 2021, as a consequence of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, means that Morocco's illegal exports are becoming increasingly lucrative. The exact income is not known because the exact prices are not known, but the data reveal that the price is substantially higher than the international market price. Western Sahara Resource Watch has estimated approximately that Morocco’s income from Western Sahara's phosphates could be as high as €655 million in the year 2022.

There is a call on all companies involved in this trade to immediately halt because Western Sahara is an occupied territory and has been internationally recognised as such. This territory is still awaiting a long-awaited referendum in respect of self-determination. Morocco does not have a mandate and we know that, much as in the case of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, under international trade law there should be no trading where there is not a mandate and where there is, in fact, an occupied territory.

In that regard, I ask that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment would ensure that at least we do what we can in Ireland by ensuring that goods from occupied territories are labelled as such, and that there is, for example, a business advisory to Irish companies that they should not engage in such trade because there is no legal basis for such trade.