Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. This is a moment that requires courage and political leadership from the Government. When we look to the past and see moments where people took stands, we note it was because they had courage in the moment. It is not something that can be applied retrospectively.
I commend Senator Frances Black on introducing the occupied territories Bill initially. I acknowledge Mr. Conor O'Neill, who was in the Gallery, for the work he has done in relation to this.
Where do we even start? The Minister is on the record during the Committee Stage debate on 23 June as saying it was clear that this legislation would amount to partial compliance and that we would have to work more at a European level to ensure full compliance.
Spain has taken further actions on services and advertising, in particular, so there is no reason Ireland cannot be stronger. Similarly, we sanctioned Russia when it occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014. Can that not be applied now to Israeli services following its occupation?
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said very clearly that there is no legal basis for excluding services. These are legal experts who are telling us that there is no legal basis there. The Attorney General's is one perspective. There are many other legal perspectives saying that it can absolutely be done.
This proposal is not without meaning, but certainly falls far short of what we need and what the people of Palestine need. This has been going on for too long. I am dismayed hearing what the Government side has said in the Chamber. I have heard references to "practical challenges" and "frameworks" around decisions. Those words were used. Future generations will not judge us on what was administratively convenient. They will judge us on what was the right thing to do. I have said a million times that we will be judged by future generations when they ask us what we did. I do not think that we are doing enough. I do not know if it is the Minister's personal preference but I do not think that the Government, as a whole, is doing enough in this regard. We have clear obligations from the International Court of Justice, ICJ, in relation to this. It is absolutely crystal clear that this is not going far enough.
They say that the arc of history bends towards justice, but ultimately it only bends if you make it bend. We need to make it bend because what is happening is that too many people in the world are turning a blind eye to genocide and to the rogue state of Israel, which is committing crimes against humanity. We will be judged as the politicians of our time. It is one of the biggest global issues of our time as public representatives and this is a time to do as much as we can. We are so far removed from it here. This is the absolute least that we can do as a country. This country has suffered under colonial oppression and bears that in its own DNA. To look away from Palestine, to not do everything we can, is to look away from our own history and our own DNA. We need to act further on this issue.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:10+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08