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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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I move amendment No. 3:
In page 4, line 14, to delete “may,” and substitute “shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this section, and may thereafter”.
As mentioned earlier, this legislation's ban on the import of settlement goods depends on the designation of specific postcodes by the Minister. These postcodes are drawn from two lists managed at EU level and periodically updated by EU authorities. However, the Bill as drafted leaves it entirely up to the Minister's discretion when or if to make these designations. I do not doubt the Minister's intention to do this but I am concerned that the door is still open and that if things change politically or if some administrative roadblock is erected, there will be no firm obligation under the legislation to put that ban in place. When this Bill is passed by these Houses today and signed into law by an tUachtarán Connolly, it will not actually ban trade with settlement goods. Instead, it gives the Minister the power to do so. She will have the power, with the stroke of a pen, to designate postal codes and put a ban in place. In my view, it would be far better to ensure that any Minister would be clearly mandated and obliged by statute to make such a designation so that the ban can come into effect within a reasonable timeframe. I believe six months is appropriate.
On Dáil Committee Stage, the Minister argued that simply substituting "may" for "shall" could potentially be read as only allowing the Minister to make the designation of postcodes once when, in reality, they will need to be updated periodically at EU level, and perhaps domestically as well, as the geographic reality changes on the ground. The amendment has therefore been changed to allow for this. If the intention is to make designations and put this ban into effect quickly, I do not see any reason for the Government not to accept these amendments.

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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