Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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34. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he intends to abide by the legal analysis of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel that each state is obliged to undertake a thorough due diligence review of its aid and assistance to Israel and determine whether it is being used by Israel to support and maintain the unlawful occupation, by conducting or commissioning such a review across public expenditure in the fields of political, diplomatic, military, financial, economic and cultural relations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44318/25]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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35. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he intends to abide by the legal analysis of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel by conducting or commissioning a due diligence review to examine private enterprises incorporated in the State and their dealings with the State of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to ensure they are not engaging in any business, activity or financial support that maintains the unlawful occupation or contributes to maintaining it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44319/25]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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36. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he intends to abide by the legal analysis of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel by conducting or commissioning a due diligence review to examine private enterprises incorporated in the State and their dealings with the State of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to ensure they are not engaging in any business, activity or financial support that maintains the unlawful occupation or contributes to maintaining it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44320/25]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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146. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he accepts the legal analysis of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel that each state is obliged to undertake a thorough due diligence review of its aid and assistance to Israel; if he intends to conduct or commission a due diligence review of all transfer and trade agreements with Israel, including but not limited to equipment, weapons, munitions, parts, components, dual use items and technology, to determine whether the goods or technology subject to the transfer or trade contribute to maintaining the unlawful occupation or are used to commit violations of international law and to review trade and economic agreements with Israel that involve products and produce of the unlawful settlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44321/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 to 36, inclusive, and 146 together.

Ireland supported the special session of the Human Rights Council in May 2021 that established a Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory. That body published a position paper on 24 October 2024 responding to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July 2024, to which I believe the Deputy is referring. That paper sets out the Commission’s “legal analysis and recommendations to Israel, UN Member States, the General Assembly and the Security Council on the implementation of the Court’s advice.”

Ireland continues to support the work of the Commission of Inquiry, in keeping with our principled position on such Commissions and similar independent UN mechanisms.

In advance of the June Foreign Affairs Council, I joined nine other EU Foreign Ministers in writing a letter to the High Representative calling for the EU to undertake a detailed review of its compliance with the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ. As the Deputy knows the European Commission has competence for EU Trade Policy.

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is the national competent authority with responsibility for export controls, including controls on defence-related exports and the export of dual-use goods.

Officials of that Department carry out assessments and checks on all export licence applications to ensure, as far as possible, that the item to be exported will be used by the stated end-user for the stated end-use and will not be used for illegal purposes.

The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in relation to each export licence application, including those involving dual-use items, is to provide foreign policy observations against the eight assessment criteria of the EU’s Common Position. Those criteria include an assessment of the respect for human rights in the country of final destination and the internal situation in that country as a function of the existence of tensions or armed conflict.

Those foreign policy observations inform the assessments carried out by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. If there are any concerns that the goods to be exported will not be used for the end use or by the specified end user as detailed in the application that application is denied by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This also applies if the exporter does not provide enough information on the intended end-use for officials to make an informed decision.

I would finally note that Ireland does not provide aid to Israel.