EU-Israel Association Agreement: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Thomas Byrne (FF), Meath East

I welcome the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Government to this important debate. I am grateful to my colleagues in Fianna Fáil for tabling the motion.
I want to state clearly that the Government welcomes the debate and does not oppose the Fianna Fáil motion. As I will outline in my statement, in its call for action at EU level the motion aligns with the Government's consistent policy approach over the last few years - which to be fair, has been acknowledged by the Opposition - in response to Israeli breaches of international law, international humanitarian law and human rights. Today’s debate comes at a time of significant challenge in the Middle East and Gulf region, where events rightly command our focus and attention. We welcome news of progress in Iran and US negotiations to reach an agreement to end the war. In recognising that gaps remain between the sides, we hope the ceasefire will be preserved. The opening of the Strait of Hormuz should be a priority. The Irish Government is deeply concerned at the Israeli announcement of its intention to intensify attacks in Lebanon. The destruction of civilian infrastructure and the deaths of civilians must be avoided. All parties should observe fully the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
On the subject of Lebanon, I am deeply conscious of Irish Defence Forces personnel and all peacekeepers serving under the UNIFIL mandate. I want to commend them on their service in the work of peace as that UN mandate comes to an end. Notwithstanding dramatic developments in the wider region, the Government is clear, as always, that Palestine must not be overlooked. This is the consistent position of the Taoiseach in the European Council the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in the EU Foreign Affairs Council and me in the EU General Affairs Council. It has been and will continue to be, a priority area for this Government.
I would like to take this opportunity to restate the Irish Government’s core positions. We remain committed to working with key partners to end the conflict in Gaza and to advancing a sustainable peace plan, as well as addressing the huge challenges facing Palestinians in Gaza, which have implications for regional security, and stability. We are committed to supporting a Palestinian state, consisting of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination. We are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side in two states — Israel and Palestine - in peace, security and dignity based on the 1967 borders. This has been consistent Irish Government policy, particularly since 1980, when the late Brian Lenihan Snr. enunciated the two-state solution. In fact, I think he was the first Minister for Foreign Affairs from the Western world to advocate for this. It is in this spirit that Ireland stands ready to play its part in working towards a sustainable peace, through the realisation of the two-state solution. Though fragile, the ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 provided a moment of relief and hope for Palestinians in Gaza, and the people of Israel. However, since coming into effect, 834 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and over 2,300 injured in Israeli military operations. Moreover, since the outbreak of the conflict with Iran, the humanitarian situation has further deteriorated. Today, the people of Gaza continue to endure, what is for all of us, unimaginable suffering. Intolerable conditions persist, as mass displacement and poor shelter conditions expose civilians to rising public health risks linked to pests and rodents, alongside ongoing strikes, shelling and gunfire. The food security situation remains precarious, while essential services are at risk of collapse.
The Irish Government is allocating €42 million in assistance to the people of Palestine in 2026. This includes urgently needed funding for UNRWA and for the Palestinian Authority. The international community must remain laser-focused on ensuring that humanitarian aid is delivered into and throughout Gaza at scale. Israel must immediately remove its restrictions on aid access and facilitate essential supplies and services into and throughout Gaza, notwithstanding the current security situation in the wider region. What we are witnessing in Gaza continues to horrify the Irish people, including here in the Houses of the Oireachtas and it continues to horrify people across Europe, and beyond. Last week, the world watched in outrage as participants of the flotilla, including Irish citizens, were illegally detained. Israel's disregard for the rule of law is a pattern that we have, regrettably, seen for some time. The Taoiseach wrote to the President of the European Council to express his grave concern, about the shocking treatment of EU citizens. All our impacted citizens arrived in Istanbul last Thursday, where they were met by a consular team from the Embassy of Ireland to Türkiye and offered all appropriate consular assistance and support. Their safety and well-being was the top priority and I thank our ambassador, Clare Brosnan, and other Irish diplomats for their steadfast work in this regard. What we saw was appalling but we will not look away. The persistent and ongoing human rights abuses the Palestinian people are enduring under occupation are, rightly, a matter of deep concern to us.
The current situation in the West Bank is sharply deteriorating, in particular with the massive expansion of settlements and the rampant and escalating settler violence, which continues in an atmosphere of impunity. The scale, speed and severity of displacement and demolitions is unprecedented. In recent weeks, the Israeli security cabinet has approved 34 new West Bank settlements, which the largest approval by any government, at once. The E1 settlement, which has been mentioned already, calls into question the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state. On 30 March, the Israeli Parliament passed a Bill mandating death by hanging as the default punishment for West Bank residents convicted of terrorist acts by military court. Ireland condemns this law. The right to life is a fundamental human right. Ireland is strongly opposed to the use of the death penalty in every circumstance. We are conscious of the discriminatory nature of the Bill as it relates to Palestinians. Recent decisions by the Israeli Government contravene international law and are part of an established pattern to create a new status quo in Palestine.
I want to state clearly to this House that the Government is committed to taking meaningful measures in response to Israeli breaches. Therefore, the Government does not oppose the motion as put forward by Fianna Fáil. The motion calls for the suspension of the EU-lsrael Association Agreement. The House will recall that in February 2024, together with Spain, Ireland wrote to the EU High Representative requesting a review of Israel’s human rights obligations under the association agreement. In May 2025, the EU Foreign Affairs Council agreed to a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The resulting report, prepared by the Office of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, was clear that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the association agreement.
In September 2025, and following commitments made by the President of the European Commission in her state of the Union address, the European Commission presented proposals to suspend certain trade-related provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in response to continued Israeli actions that breached human rights obligations and democratic principles.
Agreement was not reached at that time but the proposals remain on the table and the Government continues to actively pursue support for these measures, through diplomacy. We raise it with colleagues in meetings at the European Union and we will continue to do so. I reject the message coming from some in the Opposition that we are not doing that. This needs to continue to be done. I would encourage the Senators, when they meet counterparts from other European member states, to make this point to them as well. At the May 2026 EU Foreign Affairs Council, 12 months on from the decision to review Israel’s human rights obligations, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, once again called on the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement or at a minimum to suspend the trade elements of it, which was previously proposed by the President of the European Commission. To be clear, the suspension of the entire agreement requires unanimity but the suspension of the trade elements of it can be decided by qualified majority vote. That has a certain relevance. We continue to engage with other member states to at the very least reach the threshold for a qualified majority vote.
Senator O'Loughlin mentioned that the member states were able to reach agreement which required unanimity to sanction extremist Israeli settlers. Hungary was blocking that for quite some time. It withdrew its veto and that has moved forward. This is an overdue step and there was sustained action by the Government in relation to that. We agree that further action is required. The House will recall that on 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, a case in which Ireland and more than 50 other states made written and oral submissions. In parallel, Ireland continues to work towards action at EU level, in light of the ICJ advisory opinion, including calling for the EU to prohibit the importation of goods from Israeli settlements. At the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 11 May and again at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Trade, held on 22 May, Minister McEntee requested that the European Commission bring forward a proposal to prohibit EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory on the basis of the EU's common commercial policy, for decision at the June EU Foreign Affairs Council. We have always been clear - and others have suggested this is the correct approach as well - that action at EU level is preferable because it will have a greater impact.
In his recent letter to European Council President Costa on 20 May, the Taoiseach also reiterated Ireland's position on EU trade with Israel and requested an urgent discussion of these issues among EU leaders at the next meeting of the European Council on 18 and 19 June. This week, at the General Affairs Council, the EU Ministers were preparing that meeting for the member state leaders and I restated what the Taoiseach had called for. Momentum is growing in this regard, with an increasing number of member states either joining this call for action or expressing a readiness to consider such a proposal but we do await a proposal from the Commission.
I want to update the Seanad on the progress of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill 2026. On 26 May, the Government approved the text of the Bill. The Bill was drafted in cognisance of the 2024 ICJ advisory opinion, which held that states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation, created by Israel in occupied Palestine. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has stated that the Government intends to enact the Bill before the summer recess.
A number of EU member states have taken steps, or are in the course of taking steps, to enact similar measures to Ireland, including Spain, which has been mentioned, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Belgium but it is the Government's preference that collective action would be taken at EU level as it would have more impact.
I want to be clear to the House that the Government distinguishes between the policies of the current Israeli Government and the Israeli people. Our goal is to see both Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and security, and the two-state solution means that. We must 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. Our own history on this island means that we understand the politics of division, which stand in the way of a peaceful outcome. In the meantime, we continue to press for meaningful action in response to the actions of the current Israeli Government that undermine the viability of that two-state solution.
Today, which is 28 May 2026, marks exactly two years since the Government of Ireland's announcement that we recognise the State of Palestine. In doing so, we showed leadership at a time when many of our partners did not think it would be of consequence. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the intolerable humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the shrinking space for Palestinian life in the West Bank, and the need to inject fresh impetus towards a just and lasting peace. That decision was taken together with Spain and Norway and was followed closely by Slovenia. The decision had a real effect. Many of our EU partners, our friends and neighbours, followed Ireland in the intervening period in recognising the State of Palestine and we hope that others will follow suit. We remain convinced that the implementation of the two-state solution is the only way to establish lasting peace and security for Israel and Palestine and the people in the wider region.
In January this year, Ireland hosted a meeting of the global alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution. We shared our experience of the peace process on this island with states from the region and like-minded partners who support a peaceful settlement.
At the UN last year, Ireland was part of the core group that worked to prepare the UN high level conference on the question of Palestine and the two-state Solution, serving as co-chair of a working group together with Turkiye. We are actively committed to working to implement the New York declaration, which was the outcome of that conference.
While the discourse today in the Seanad has been perfectly reasonable from all Members, some of the discourse on this issue around the country at the moment goes way too far. The question of accusing the Government of being somehow involved was suggested by perhaps one person. This is completely contradicted by the reputation that the Government has in terms of its activities in this area in world questions on that and around the EU table. We are actively working to implement the New York declaration, which was the outcome of that high-level conference.
Our position on the Middle East has been and remains firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international law in word and deed. Our record attests to that. Our commitment is clear. We are proactive and a vocal proponent at EU and international level of taking action in response to the egregious breaches by Israel.
As we mark two years today since our formal recognition of the State of Palestine, we will with renewed resolve continue to work towards the realisation of the two-state solution.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28