Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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204. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025, and when it is expected that the Bill will come before the Houses for First Stage. [51456/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On 24 June, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill. The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade held a number of hearings on the General Scheme, and received submissions representing a range of views and perspectives.

Pre-Legislative Scrutiny is an important part of the legislative process and I have thanked the Committee for its report. Detailed work to analyse the report and its recommendations is well underway with a view to getting the best and most robust piece of legislation. The next steps in the process, including the timeline for the progress of the Bill, will be considered by Government shortly.

It remains the Government’s preference that collective action should be taken at EU level and I continue to pursue this.

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. On 26 August, HR/VP responded that Commission services are currently conducting analysis on the extent to which the ongoing agreements follow the provisions of the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, and that she hopes to share the outcome in the near future. Together with my counterparts, I will continue to press for an urgent conclusion to this analysis.

I welcome the recent announcements by the Slovenian, Belgian, Spanish, and Dutch governments that they intend to follow Ireland’s lead and take steps to enact a similar ban on the importation of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

I also welcome that the European Commission has now proposed a package of measures including a partial suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on trade-related matters. This builds on the Commission proposal to suspend part of the EU’s Horizon funding to Israel.

Ireland has welcomed these proposals, which are long overdue and follow sustained action by the Government.

The EU now has an opportunity to demonstrate to its international partners, and crucially to its citizens, that it is ready to act in the face of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, and to stand up for its core principles and respect for international law.