Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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15. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to explain the Government's position on the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018. [40631/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Government’s legal advice is that the Occupied Territories Bill is not compatible with EU law, as the EU has exclusive competence for external trade.

A key pillar of Ireland’s foreign policy is our strong commitment to international law and our promotion of respect for international law. To adopt an approach that runs contrary to legal advice would undermine Ireland’s clear and principled stance in this regard.

Rather than focusing on unilateral measures and symbolic gestures, the Government has been focused on moving the dial forward in a meaningful way at international level.

I welcome the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July. The Opinion of the Court largely confirmed the Government’s legal analysis, which was outlined in Ireland’s written and oral submissions, and presented by the Attorney General to the Court back in February 2024.

Ireland cosponsored and voted for the Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September last, setting out follow-up to the ICJ Advisory Opinion and which had 124 votes in favour.

It is now incumbent upon the international community, including the European Union, to give careful consideration to the Advisory Opinion. This is a point that I have underlined very clearly to my EU counterparts, including at our recent informal meetings in August and September.