Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 384: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures that have been established to make it possible to distinguish between Israeli and settlement goods that he referred to in Parliamentary Question No. 755 of 6 October 2009; and if he has adopted these measures. [37042/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The European Commission concluded a technical agreement with Israel in 2005, whereby Israel agreed to provide proof of origin notes on consignments to the EU, which should enable customs authorities in the EU to distinguish between goods originating in Israel and in settlements, based on the postcodes of the place of origin. I understand that it is in the first instance an obligation on the importer to distinguish between goods entitled to preferential rates of duty and those not so entitled. There are obvious difficulties in ensuring 100% effectiveness of this or any such system in relation to the complex situation in the Occupied Territories. Implementation and enforcement are the responsibility of the competent domestic authorities in each Member State. In Ireland that would be the Revenue Commissioners, the Irish Customs Service and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.