Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

I thank Deputy Nash. The commitments I have made here do not depend on each other. If we do not reach a consensus on a European level, that will not prevent me and the Government from brining forward the occupied territories Bill legislation and enacting it. Any legislation needs to be brought to Government beforehand, so I am not going to get into the details of it but I have been very clear. I have had engagement with the Attorney General to look at the overall legalities of what is being proposed and what is being asked by Deputies and what is within our legal remit, based on the fact that, as Deputy Nash knows, trade is an EU competency. However, we are talking about the occupied territories and it has been made very clear through international law, and the EU has agreed with this, that the occupied territories are illegal and so trade with them is illegal. That is why we are bringing forward this legislation and that is why we have not supported other legislation because trade, as a whole, is an EU competency. However, I am determined, working with other countries, to try to build that consensus, so we will reach an agreement and we will be strong in our response to what we have seen, not just today, but the myriad of decisions we have seen taken by the Israeli Government that, essentially, have led to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21