Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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28. To ask the Minister for Finance if, in light of the ongoing genocide carried out by Israel, he will direct the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israeli war bonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27946/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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67. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether he has a duty under the Genocide Convention to stop the Central Bank from facilitating the sale of Israeli war bonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27948/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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68. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether Israeli war bonds, whose sale is facilitated by the Central Bank, are financing the genocide in Gaza; his further views on whether the Central Bank and his Department are complicit in genocide as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27949/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 67 and 68 together.

The Central Bank does not sell or oversee the sale of Israeli bonds.

The Central Bank is designated as the competent authority in Ireland for the approval of securities prospectuses under the Prospectus Regulation. As the competent authority, the Central Bank is responsible for assessing whether a prospectus has been drawn up in compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Prospectus Regulation.

By approving a bond prospectus, the Central Bank does not endorse the issuer or the securities. Rather it means the Central Bank is satisfied that the issuer has disclosed the required information, in the required manner, to potential purchases of the securities, so investors can make an informed investment decision.

The Prospectus Regulation prescribes that each prospectus should include a statement that the competent authority only approves the prospectus as meeting the standards of completeness, comprehensibility and consistency imposed by the Prospectus Regulation and that such approval should not be considered as an endorsement of the issuer and the securities that is the subject of the prospectus. It is therefore clear that the Central Bank does not endorse the issuer or the securities by way of the prospectus approval.

The Governor of the Central Bank in his correspondence to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach, on 4 December 2024, set out the position of the Bank that an Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, or indeed the processes of the International Criminal Court do not constitute grounds for the Central Bank to refuse the prospectus of the Israeli Bond Programme.

The Central Bank has not identified any basis upon which to use its supervisory powers under Article 32(1) of the Prospectus Regulation with regard to the Israeli bond programme.

The Central Bank of Ireland operates within a legal framework discharging its duties, this is fundamental to the work it does and, in turn, to how our economy operates and how it regulates activity here within Ireland and in Europe and the independence of the Central Bank cannot be undermined.

Respect for international law is at the core of Ireland’s foreign policy. Ireland has consistently called on Israel to comply with international law, stressing the universal applicability of international law, including international humanitarian law. As we ask others to respect international law, we too must respect it and our commitments as a Member State of the EU.