The following motion was moved by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan on Wednesday, 11 June 2025:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— Israel Sovereign Bonds, known as Israel Bonds, have, since 1951, raised funds for the Israeli Treasury for use across the Israeli economy including the Israeli military and the illegal settlements;
— Israel Bonds have since October 2023, been advertised as war bonds with the slogan "Stand with Israel – Israel is at War", and the website marketing the bonds contains a video by Israeli President, Isaac Herzog who lauds "the crucial role of Israel Bonds during this time of conflict and war";
— Israel Bonds are intended to fund what Israel calls "the war in Gaza", the State of Israel Bond Issuance prospectus explicitly refers to the decision of Israel's Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs "to undertake military action, which resulted in drafting more than 300,000 reservists launching the war in Gaza";
— in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that the Palestinian people in Gaza had "plausible rights" to be protected from the "imminent risk" of genocide;
— in June 2024, the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine found that Israel's actions in Gaza "constitute the war crimes of wilful killing and mistreatment, and the crime against humanity of extermination";
— in July 2024, an ICJ advisory opinion declared that Israel's entire regime of military occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and must end immediately;
— the same ICJ advisory opinion declared that Israel is in "breach of Article 3" of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination which "condemns racial segregation and apartheid" and compels states to "undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction";
— Article 1 of the Genocide Convention requires states to undertake "to prevent and punish genocide", and under the Convention, states have a negative obligation not to commit or be complicit in genocide and positive obligations to prevent and to punish genocide;
— the obligation to prevent genocide and the corresponding duty to act starts, as the ICJ clarified in the Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro case, "at the instant that the State learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed";
— the ICJ's finding of "plausible rights" and "imminent risk" constitutes that knowledge of the risk of genocide triggers third states' legal obligations under the Genocide Convention;
— further reasonable grounds exist to believe crimes against humanity and war crimes are being committed by Israel in Gaza, given that arrest warrants have been requested by the International Criminal Court Prosecutor for key Israeli officials, the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, including, inter alia for the crimes against humanity of extermination and persecution, and the war crimes of starvation, wilful killing, and the causing of great suffering or serious injury to body or health;
— on 5th December, 2024, Amnesty International concluded that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza;
— on 19th December, 2024, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of acts of extermination and genocide;
— on 19th December, 2024, Medecins Sans Frontières described the Israeli military actions in Gaza as ethnic cleansing and genocide;
— at least 54,500 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, and another 900 in the West Bank, 65 per cent of them are women and children;
— 2,180 families have been obliterated in their entirety, and 5,000 more have but a single family member surviving;
— 1,400 medics, 200 journalists, and 750 aid workers have been killed;
— on 2nd March, 2025, Israel imposed a total food and aid blockade flagrantly using starvation and denial of medical aid as a method of warfare, and on 18th March, Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire killing more than 400 people in Gaza in one night;
— on 3rd May, 2025, Doctor Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization said "We are breaking the bodies and the minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza because if we don't do something about it, we are complicit";
— on 5th May, 2025, Israel announced its intention to permanently seize territory in Gaza and forcibly displace the population;
— on 28th May, 2025, the Government voted against the Restrictive Financial Measures (State of Israel) Bill 2025, which was drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisors and underpinned by a full legal opinion that would have given the Minister for Finance the explicit power to end Ireland's involvement with Israeli war bonds;
— all institutions are obliged under international law to prevent genocide and the abuse of human rights;
— the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) in their response to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on 4th December, 2024, stated that in their assessment the prospectus makes extensive reference to the war in Gaza and there is a clear and prominent discussion of the war in Gaza and the proposed use of the funds;
— the CBI also stated in their response to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on 4th December, 2024, that the advertisement material is not inconsistent with the information in the prospectus;
— the CBI Governor, has said that the Central Bank can only refuse the approval of a prospectus where it has a legal basis to do so;
— a compelling legal basis exists in the Genocide Convention and under International Humanitarian Law to refuse the State of Israel Bonds Issuance prospectus; and
— furthermore, the State of Israel Bonds Issuance prospectus is not complete, neither the January 2024 ruling of the ICJ in relation to the Genocide Convention, nor the July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion are not mentioned in the prospectus and this omission amounts to the deliberate with-holding of risk-related information; and
calls on the Government to:
— honour Ireland's obligations under the Genocide Convention and to fulfil the duty of the State to use all means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide, or reasonably suspected of harbouring specific intent, dolus specialis, to prevent the genocide;
— honour Ireland's obligations under international humanitarian law;
— make a clear and unequivocal declaration of commitment to honour Ireland's obligations under the Genocide Convention, international human rights law conventions and customary international humanitarian law;
— advise the CBI that it is acting in violation of the Genocide Convention, by facilitating the sale of Israel Bonds in the European Union (EU);
— advise the CBI that by acting as the enabling cog in Israel's fund-raising machine in the EU it is putting the State at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide;
— insist that the CBI immediately end its facilitation of the sale of Israel Bonds; and
— enact emergency legislation to explicitly force the CBI to stop facilitating the sale of Israel Bonds.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dail Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes that, the Government:
— condemns the renewed Israeli military offensive and plans to establish full control of the Gaza Strip;
— urges all parties to return to talks aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal;
— recalls that Ireland repeatedly condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas and other terrorist groups on Israel on 7th October, 2023, and has consistently called for the unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza and reiterates calls for their immediate release; and
— condemns Israel's blockade of humanitarian and commercial supplies for Gaza, imposed on 2nd March, which has rapidly deepened the hunger crisis in Gaza;
and in this context, further notes:
— that the Government will continue to work intensively with partners to exert pressure, to allow a full resumption of aid in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles, and to enable the United Nations (UN) and humanitarian organisations to work independently and do their job;
— that the Government will progress legislation prohibiting the import of goods from Israeli settlements;
— that the Government will continue to demonstrate leadership at European Union (EU) level, including through pressing for meaningful follow-up to the review of Israel's compliance with Article 2 of the Association Agreement;
— that Ireland is among a core group of states that has tabled a draft Resolution for adoption at the Resumed 10th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on 12th June;
— that the Government will continue its intensive engagement at the UN, including through co-chairing, with Türkiye, one of eight working groups at the forthcoming UN High Level Conference in June; and
— Ireland filed a Declaration of Intervention at the International Court of Justice in South Africa's case against Israel under the Genocide Convention on 6th January, the Court's ruling on the admissibility of the intervention is awaited, following which it is intended to make substantive submissions;
deplores that as of 4th June, the UN has reported that at least 54,600 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, over 23,000 of whom are women and children;
is gravely concerned that the latest assessment by the Infection Prevention and Control global hunger monitor, that the entire population of Gaza is facing high levels of food insecurity, with half a million people facing starvation;
recalls that:
— in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that the Palestinian people in Gaza had 'plausible right' to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III of the Genocide Convention and that there was a 'real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused' to that right, before the ICJ gives its final decision in the case;
— in June 2024, the UN Human Rights Council's International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine found that, in its investigation into the attack of 7th October, 2023, the Commission found that members of Hamas, other Palestinian armed groups and Palestinian civilians, had committed war crimes, as well as violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, it also found that, in its operations in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7th October, 2023, Israeli authorities and members of the Israeli security forces had committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and these included, the war crime of wilful killing and mistreatment, and the crime against humanity of extermination;
— the Genocide Convention requires States to undertake 'to prevent and to punish genocide';
— in July 2024, an ICJ advisory opinion declared that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful, and must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible;
— the same ICJ advisory opinion declared that Israel is in 'breach of Article 3' of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which it is obliged to prevent and prohibit all practices of racial segregation and apartheid in territories under its jurisdiction; and
— arrest warrants have been requested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor for key Israeli officials, the Prime Minister and former Minister of Defence, in respect of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity;
deeply regrets the UN Security Council's failure to pass a resolution to demand the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza;
emphasise the importance of:
— the review by the EU of Israel's compliance with its obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement;
— the forthcoming UN High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution; and
— commits to working to deliver these;
further states that:
— Ireland has provided over €88 million in support of the people of Palestine since January 2023, of which more than €76 million has been provided since October 2023; and
— this includes €58 million for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees since 2023, to support its programmes in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; and
acknowledges that:
— the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) is independent in its function;
— the CBI does not issue, sell, trade, list or oversee Israel bonds;
— the CBI's role, under EU legislation, is to assess the bond prospectus to ensure that it includes all the disclosure requirements of the EU Prospectus Regulation, however in the act of approving a bond prospectus, the CBI does not endorse the issuer or the securities;
— in regard to the Prospectus Regulation, it is up to the third-party sovereign to choose one EU Member State to apply to for approval of its prospectus, and the National Competent Authority in the chosen Member State is then legally obliged to discharge the relevant duties within the Prospectus Regulation;
— the CBI has clearly stated that an Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, or indeed the processes of the ICC does not constitute grounds for the CBI to refuse the prospectus of the Israel Bond Programme; and
— the Government has received advice from the Attorney General that recently proposed legislation to introduce 'restrictive measures' was not compatible with our obligations as Members of the EU and in conflict with Article 215 and Article 63 Treaty on the Functioning of the EU."
- (Minister for Finance)
I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding the sale of Israeli Bonds. On Wednesday, 11 June 2025, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 85(2), that division must be taken now.
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 85; Níl, 71; Staon, 0.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Paul Murphy.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Amendment declared carried.
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 85; Níl, 71; Staon, 0.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Paul Murphy.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Question declared carried.