The Government is to bring the Occupied Territories Bill back to the Dáil in the coming weeks, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said.
The Bill, which would seek to restrict trade with illegally occupied settlements in Palestine, has become a focus of significant opposition pressure, with the Government facing charges of slow-walking the legislation in the face of potential risks to the economy.
McEntee said in the Dáil on Thursday: “I’m saying very clearly this morning that I will bring forward the Occupied Territories Bill. I will publish legislation in the coming weeks, and we will enact this separate to and in parallel with what is happening at a European level.”
A draft version of the law was published last year, with the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee scrutinising and then publishing a report last July.
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With that process complete, the next step is for McEntee to bring revised legislation to Cabinet, after which it will be published and then begin its formal progress through the Dáil and Seanad. Once it passes both houses it is sent to the President for her signature, upon which it becomes law.
That process may take several more months, with the Government expected to face pressure to move quickly from the opposition.
The news that the Bill is finally being advanced comes after it was accused of dragging its feet on the legislation for months.
The Minister added “it’s really important that we agree at a European level to do this, but also think it’s important that we progress the legislation that we’ve said we’re committed to”.
It also comes as Israel faces renewed international criticism after a government minister was filmed taunting humanitarian activists awaiting deportation after being intercepted aboard a flotilla seeking to bring aid to Gaza.
McEntee said “if we look at what the last few days have shown us is that we need to change the behaviour of the Israeli government”.
Frances Black, the Independent Senator who first introduced legislation targeting trade with the Israeli settlements in 2018, said she had received a message from McEntee on Thursday morning saying the Bill would be brought back to the Dáil shortly.
“Minister McEntee contacted me this morning and I strongly welcome that we’re finally seeing movement. It’s long past time that Government finally brought this legislation to the Dáil and delivered on the clear promises made,” she said.
The Coalition is expected to focus the Bill on the trade in goods only, despite a recommendation from the foreign affairs committee to target both goods and services. Including services is a potentially more politically contentious and logistically challenging step – but it is one the opposition is adamant that the Coalition should take.
Sinn Féin and Labour finance spokesmen Pearse Doherty and Ged Nash said the “decks should be cleared” of all other business next week to allow the Occupied Territories Bill to be debated and passed.
The Minister, however, reiterated she would bring the legislation forward “in the coming weeks, irrespective of whether or not we reach a consensus at a European level” and “we will enact this legislation as soon as possible”.
She said she was pushing for a vote “at the next foreign affairs council, which would specifically be on the banning or the suspension of the trade elements of the EU Israel Association Agreement”.
“This is an agreement that is preferential treatment essentially to Israel, and if this element was suspended, it would impact the Israeli economy by billions of euros.
“And I believe that that would send a very strong signal that we are serious in our not just words, but in pushing back on the absolutely atrocious actions that have been taken by the Israeli government, many of which are in breach of international law.”
Black told The Irish Times: “The key thing for me will be make sure that the law is thorough and effective – a ban on all trade with the illegal settlements, both goods and services”.
“That is the standard set by my original Bill, by the ICJ [International Court of Justice], and which the Government have accepted is an obligation under international law. Other EU member states like Spain have shown that we can take this kind of action with the right political will. I look forward to the debate.”
Black said McEntee has offered to meet her soon to discuss it, and that she would be seeking more information on the timelines.
Black added: “The Dáil rises for its summer recess on July 16th. That will be one year since the foreign affairs committee last looked at the Bill and called unanimously, both Government and Opposition, for the Bill to be passed and services included. That should focus minds – a hard deadline to get this passed in full.”
On Wednesday evening TDs voted against legislation seeking to impose sanctions on Israel, by 77 votes to 62.
The Bill, which was tabled by People Before Profit-Solidarity, had proposed to prohibit all trade, investment, financial dealings and state-linked economic activity with Israel.
