LAST UPDATE | 22 Oct
A NUMBER OF Opposition TDs have said the Dáil should sit through the mid-term recess next week in order to pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin updated Cabinet on the Government’s approach to the legislation today.
Martin said a range of complex policy and legal issues are yet to be resolved in relation to the Bill.
In a statement he said the Attorney General has clarified that there are grounds in EU law allowing States to take action at a national level in relation to their trade with Israel.
“It is in that context that the Government will now look again at the Occupied Territories Bill. It is the Government’s intention that any trade restrictions would focus on the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Martin said.
However, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said this morning that the necessary changes to the bill are unlikely to be complete before the Dáil dissolves sometime before the end of the year.
“I think there’s an understanding, and even Frances Black, I think, had an understanding that it was probably unlikely to go through all stages,” O’Gorman said, referring to Senator Black, who originally introduced the bill in 2018.
“But I think it is important that we are looking to advance this piece of legislation, and particularly to at least create the space that can be discussed at the Oireachtas committee,” O’Gorman said.
O’Gorman said that Senator Black and pro-Palestine organisations like Sadaka “want to see momentum”.
The Dáil rises this Thursday with TDs not due to return to Leinster House until Tuesday 5 November.
The Labour Party led calls from the Opposition for the Government to cancel next week’s Dáil recess to allow the Bill to progress, along with Sinn Féin and People Before Profit.
Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesperson Matt Carthy told The Journal he agrees with calls for the Dáil to sit next week, saying it is “time for the excuses to end”.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have delayed long enough. Ireland must lead the way in imposing sanctions on Israel,” Carthy said.
People Before Profit’s Paul Murphy said if the government are serious about passing the bill, “well, then let us progress it”.
“If we need to sit next week, let’s sit next week. Let’s get it progressed. Let’s get it passed into law. This has been sitting around now for six years in the Dáil. No more delays are acceptable,” said Murphy.
He said the government should not be believed when they state that the legislation will be enacted after the election. Murphy accused the government of “transparent and quite disgusting cynicism” on the matter.
Labour’s Duncan Smith said the government has successfully “wound the clock down on this bill” stating that it is now being left for the next government to action.
“This is not good enough,” he added, stating that the Labour Party will give time over to pass the bill.
“We believe that to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, we should sit next week. Get the business done, get it through, enacted. I think it would be a great legacy for this Dáil and I think the government should do it. We should come back next week to do that and do the Finance bill. And let’s give the people what they want,” said Smith.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also made calls for the Dáil sit next week during the Order of Business today.
Finance Minister Jack Chambers poured cold water on the prospect of the Dáil continuing next week however, arguing that passing the bill ahead of the general election would be “challenging” given the amendments that are required.
The Tánaiste’s memo today outlines the pathway to proceed – but yesterday Martin also warned that the legislation may not be passed during this Dáil term.
“It will take some time to legislate for this in my view because the existing bill is unconstitutional at the moment in terms of its current provisions and there are also issues around other aspects of the bill that would need to be substantially amended.”
Updated Attorney General advice on the Bill was sought following an advisory ruling to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July that said Israeli settlements in occupied areas of Palestine breach international law.
The ICJ concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful – and that there is a duty on all States to prevent trade or any other assistance to the settlements.
Following a briefing by the Attorney General to leaders last week, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman and Taoiseach Simon Harris said they believed that legislation to deal with trade from occupied territories should be passed by TDs in this Government’s life time.
The Attorney General’s advice on the best approach to avoid a breach of EU law or the Irish constitution will be considered as part of the review, and a memo brought back to Government on the next steps.
Martin said he believed the context has changed since Senator Frances Black first introduced the bill in 2018.
“I think the context has changed because of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion and I think any legislation would situate itself in the context of the ICJ advisory opinion – now the attorney general has provided comprehensive advice on this,” he said.
“I’ve been talking to Frances [Black] about this but it’s a difficult challenging path and there’s no point in pretending that it isn’t,” said Martin.
Separately, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien brought two memos on the Defective Concrete Blocks remediation scheme to Cabinet this morning.
One sought to approve an order to add Sligo County Council to the remediation scheme, after it was approved by the Oireachtas last week.
There is an estimated 200 to 300 dwellings in the county affected by defective concrete blocks.
The other memo sought to make an order to increase the overall grant scheme cap by 10% from €420,000 to €462,000, along with a 10% increase in ancillary grants, for accommodation costs, storage costs and essential immediate repairs.
In addition, Cabinet heard a proposal for The Open and the Women’s Open to be held in Portmarnock Golf Club.
Transport sought Cabinet approval in principle for the extension of the Luas under the Luas Finglas project so a planning application can be lodged to An Bord Pleanála.
Minister Charlie McConalogue told Cabinet of his plans to boost numbers of young people taking up a career in farming.
With reporting from Jane Matthews.
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