It is the former Deputy, Brendan Griffin.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I thank colleagues who have contributed to the debate. We are witnessing in plain sight the persistent and ongoing human rights abuses that Palestinian people endure under occupation. We are witnessing an appalling and worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. We are witnessing the deteriorating situation in the West Bank with massive expansion of settlements alongside rampant and escalating settler violence, all of which leads us to conclude that the actions of the current Israeli Government contravene international law. On the question of how best to respond, while we have moved ahead on prohibiting settlement trade in goods at a national level, our preference, which we have said this time and time again, is to work at an EU level and that collective action be taken at an EU level. This will have a much greater impact. Those who are quick to criticise the Government's approach are slow to take account of the broader realities, including the debates happening at the EU level. Ireland has led from the front on this issue. We were the first EU country to announce our intention to prohibit the importation of settlement goods. Others have followed our lead, not the other way around. Other member states have come to agree with us. In the past week, Slovenia has had a change of government, and it has completely changed its policy on Israel. It has had a complete reset in relations. We have to deal with the realities of all of this around the European table. Ireland has repeatedly called for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement or, at a minimum, to suspend the trade elements of the agreement, as previously proposed by President Ursula von der Leyen. In advance of the Foreign Affairs Council next week, the Minister has asked the Commission to bring forward a proposal to prohibit EU trade with Israeli settlements on the basis of the EU's Common Commercial Policy. A number of member states supported this call in the Commission and were equally clear that proposals sanction certain Israeli Ministers cannot be a substitute or an alternative for an EU ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The Taoiseach also wrote the President of the European Council, António Costa, on 20 May reiterating Ireland's position on the EU's trade with Israel and requested an urgent discussion of these issues among EU leaders at the meeting of the European Council next week. I will ask for this as well at the General Affairs Council that I will attend next week. Member states reached political agreement last month to sanction Israeli extremist settlers and entities and those who enable them. That was hard fought for around the table. Every member state has a veto on that issue. The political reality is that we have to deal with that around the table. We hold the veto dear every time we have a referendum. The previous Hungarian Government held up that particular provision for some time. I welcome that the position has changed and moved on. The politics changes in both directions. Actions taken at EU level in response to the appalling situation in Gaza have a much greater impact than those taken at national level. We will always stand up for human rights and international law within the EU and for accountability when it comes to breaches of international law. The question of services has been the main issue in this debate. This Government and any government has a responsibility to ensure that any legislation is legally robust, capable of being implemented and can withstand legal challenge. In the case of goods, a public policy exception exists in the EU regulation which controls the import of goods. This exception allows EU member states to adopt prohibitions on the import of goods for public policy reasons. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no equivalent or similar broad public policy exception relating to external trade in services.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I acknowledge the point made by Deputies in respect of the absence of services from the Bill but no political view, however well meaning, whether expressed on this side of the House or the opposite side, can trump the rule of law. We cannot trump the law.

Sentiment score: 0.11

At the European level, the Single Market is a lot less harmonised in respect of trade in services than it is for trade in goods. The regulation of services is split across a variety of EU legislation and there would be huge challenges regarding, as the Taoiseach has said, the effective implementation and enforcement of restrictions on trade in services. Again, on the issue of services and actions taken by the Spanish Government, there are some misunderstandings. Spain has not implemented a ban on trade in services, so it is incorrect to suggest that it has done so. It has introduced a targeted amendment to its consumer protection law to prohibit the advertisement in Spain of services provided in Israeli settlements.

Sentiment score: 0.35

This is the only aspect of the Spanish legislation that relates to services. The focus of the Spanish legislation is on the prohibition of the importation of goods. National legislation being taken forward by other EU member states is similarly focused on goods. Again, I remind the House that Ireland was the first EU country to announce its intention to prohibit the importation of settlement goods and other EU member states have followed that lead. On the potential economic implications, the Oireachtas committee asked the Government to look at this. The Government does not have the luxury of putting forward proposals without fully working through all of the potential consequences. That includes potential implications for the economy and for jobs. These have been outlined in debates between the Taoiseach and Deputy Boyd Barrett in here. The Government has taken the time to carefully consider all of the options as well as the proposals that have been made as part of the debate in this House and during the pre-legislative scrutiny process. For those who dismiss the potential economic implications or who feel we should gamble or take a risk with them, the question is whose jobs they are willing to sacrifice. What companies do they want to see leave Ireland? That is a question that some people are quite prepared to answer in this House. I am not accusing the Deputies opposite but there are Deputies who are more than happy to answer that question. We need to be honest with people. The Government's job is to protect the interests of Irish people and to use that interest to make our voice heard at international level. The Government has a track record of taking action in response to the actions taken by the Israeli Government which contravene international law. We are fulfilling our programme for Government commitment and this Bill is significant legislation. It is possible, because of the findings of the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, that it will also contribute positively to Irish and international efforts to prevent unilateral actions that impinge upon the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and upon the viability of the two-state solution. The two-state solution is the only answer here, to have Israel and Palestine, side by side, in peace and security. Who was the first Western politician to put forward that as a serious proposition? It was Brian Lenihan senior, in 1980, when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs. This Irish Government and Irish governments in general have led from the front on all of this. We have led from the front on the issue of trade with settlements and on the recognition of Palestine. We will continue to lead on the need for effective EU action. On Friday, at the invitation of the French Minister for foreign affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, I will represent the Irish Government at the second edition of the Paris call for the two-state solution. As a Government, our overarching approach encompasses our commitment to working with key partners to end the conflict in Gaza and to advance a sustainable peace plan ending the conflict and addressing the huge challenges facing Palestinians in Gaza. It encompasses our commitment to supporting a Palestinian state consisting of Gaza and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem. It also encompasses our commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side, in two states, Israel and Palestine, in peace, security and dignity within agreed borders based on 1967 borders. We have always been clear that our goal is for both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. The cycle of violence must be brought to an end. The suffering of Palestinians and Israelis needs to end. We must always be careful to remember that and to leave space for the people to people contacts that have always been the most valuable part of the relationship between Ireland and Israel. As a Minister of State in this Government, I want to stress that we must distinguish between the policies of the Israeli Government and the Israeli people. From our own history on this island we know that the politics of division never advances a peaceful outcome. Ireland's position on the Middle East is firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international law in both word and deed. Collective action at the EU level would be most effective in this case. The Government is proceeding with this Bill in accordance with its commitments under the programme for Government and I thank Members for their contributions to the debate on this Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.24