Ba mhaith liom leithscéal a ghabháil leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus an Aire mar go raibh mé déanach. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach as teacht ar ais go dtí mo cheist.
Sentiment score: 0.00
1. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the current progress on the drafting of the Israeli settlements (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill 2025; if she will outline the recent advice she has received from the Attorney General; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38408/26]
Sentiment score: 0.15
The scenes in the last few days – I have a further question on the Global Sumud Flotilla, so we can perhaps discuss that further – underline the fact that the international community has allowed Israel to behave with absolute impunity. It continues to act accordingly. It continues to breach all the international laws dictating what is right and wrong. There have to be consequences. The occupied territories Bill needs to be a part of that, as far as I am concerned.
Sentiment score: -0.10
I will use the phrase "the occupied territories Bill" as shorthand. I appreciate the Government's Bill has a different title, but that is what it is commonly understood as. The Minister's statements are difficult to reconcile. She has come here and said we will have something in a couple of weeks. What I interpreted from her interview with Virgin Media during the week was that we will see what happens at a European level and then might act. There have been contradictory statements over the course of the past couple of years. If you look at it in terms of a timeline, there were commitments in parties' manifestos before the general election to pass the occupied territories Bill. There was no qualification or equivocation about trade or services. The programme for Government and the Department of foreign affairs strategy to 2028 include references to the enactment of the occupied Palestinian territories legislation by 2028. This year's strategy talks about progressing the occupied territories Bill by 2029. The Government is putting it back by a year and talking about progressing rather than enacting. There seems to be constant watering down. The Minister is talking about a couple of weeks, but I am not sure she would have said that at the start of this week if we had not seen those scenes.
Sentiment score: -0.05
I agree with that last point. However, my interpretation of the Minister's interview was different from what she is saying. I do not think we were going to hear anything about legislation in the next couple of weeks. It seems to me that what we have seen may have lit a fire under the Government, as has often been the case and as was the case in the first place when manifesto commitments were given for the occupied territories Bill. If that is the case, it entirely justifies the actions of people who are taking up initiatives such as the Global Sumud Flotilla. They highlight these issues and make it clear that governments have to act. Activists out there are having to take initiatives such as that to force governments to act. I absolutely recognise that if the European Union could act in concert in a way that delivers actual results and puts pressure on the Israeli Government, I would welcome it, but clearly it has taken three or four years for the Union to move an inch. There is legislation there and no reason not to enact it. The arguments in relation to services are paper thin. It is clear that the Spanish have been able to move on this. Will the Minister give a commitment that we will be debating the legislation on Second Stage before the recess?
Sentiment score: 0.12
3. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her view on the need for international pressure to vindicate the right of Western Sahara to self-determination, and the Government's relations with the SADR; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38409/26]
Sentiment score: -0.07
From one occupied territory to another, albeit one that probably has received less attention, maybe one of the least discussed occupations in the world. It certainly does not get enough attention. I refer to the issue of Western Sahara, or the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is considered to be a non-self-governing territory but it is largely occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco. The Irish Government needs to continue to take a firm position in defence of international law on this. Unfortunately, many other countries are moving away from that.
Sentiment score: 0.02
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is 50 years old now. To put on record the context here, it is currently occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco. MINURSO was set up in order to safeguard and facilitate a referendum. That was in 1991. There has been no referendum. Discussions in the early and late 2000s about a referendum delivered no referendum. The fundamental principle here is that of self-determination but the Sahrawi people, the vast bulk of whom are in exile, with the bulk of the population living in refugee camps in southern Algeria, have been denied that right to self-determination for decades, for generations. I appreciate that the Irish Government has taken the right position on many resolutions but it may need to take a more robust position because the positions of other governments are beginning to slide away from that principle of self-determination. That needs to be challenged by the Irish Government.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I appreciate that and appreciate the sentiment, and I believe that where we can work together we should do so. As regards people feeling that progress is not fast enough, there is no progress. There is no process, in truth. The only process that exists is the peacekeeping mission that, in theory, is to facilitate a referendum but there is no sign of that. Ultimately, the Moroccan Government believes that it has got away with this, that it has ultimately succeeded in its objective, that it has occupied the territory and that that will not be in any way affected. I believe, therefore, that the Irish Government and like-minded governments need to begin to escalate this issue. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a full member of the African Union. It is recognised by dozens of countries around the world. I ask the Irish Government whether it considers that the national council, the legislative council, of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is considered the legitimate representatives of the Sahrawi people. Does the Government recognise that?
Sentiment score: 0.14