Post European Council Meeting: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), Dún Laoghaire

The failure of the European Union to suspend the EU association agreement with Israel is an absolute disgrace. Does the Minister of State agree it is a disgrace, given that Israel is in the dock for genocide and has instigated murderous and illegal wars against Lebanon and Iran? Does the Minister of State agree? If his excuse is that Europe will not doing anything but we tried, does he feel Ireland has any responsibility to do anything in the face of the crimes Israel is committing? Specifically, does he think we have any obligations under the Genocide Convention?
On 14 May, I will have a Bill coming before the Dáil. Luckily, it has been selected from the lottery. It is the Sanctions against the State of Israel Bill, which calls for us to impose comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions on Israel because of our obligations under the Genocide Convention, which requires signatories to act to prevent genocide. Does the Minister of State accept that under the Genocide Convention, regardless of EU hypocrisy, double standards and its refusal to move, we, as signatories of that convention, have a moral and legal obligation to act against the crimes that Israel is committing? It is a simple question.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22