Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I will reiterate a little bit of what Senator Black said. The intended purpose of the Bill is to ensure companies involved in the occupied Palestinian territories are not profiting from their involvement on illegally stolen land, but there is a risk. I read the transcript of the debate on Report and Final Stages in the Dáil so I understand the Minister's perspective on this. There are Palestinians living within Israeli communities, particularly in East Jerusalem, given the way the occupation has taken place there with Israelis moving into Palestinian land. It is really about avoiding unintended consequences. I know the Minister agrees we would not want any Palestinians negatively impacted by this or facing any economic impact should they try to trade. Crucially, we are referring to the 1967 territory, since significant swathes of land have been stolen up to this point.
Despite what the Minister outlined on Report Stage in the Dáil, there are still concerns that the Bill states goods cannot be imported if they come from specific postcodes - "the importation of goods originating in a postal code to which this Act applies is prohibited." I know it is not the intention of the Minister or the Department but we believe there is a risk. The amendments in this grouping are designed to provide a safeguard and a definition for the postcodes, and to ensure there is no risk of Palestinian goods being impacted by this legislation. As Senator Black said, similar language is being used in Belgium and the Netherlands. The assurance the Minister tried to give on Report Stage, that the DPP will know whether a good originates from a Palestinian trader, is not very clear. It is certainly not legally clear in the Bill as written.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15