Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-15 ============================================================ Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel I will take a minute, if that is okay. I know everybody is anxious to see the match but I feel it is imperative I thank the people I have been working with for the last eight years who have stood by me. First, I thank my CEG colleagues, Senators Ruane, Higgins and Flynn, but particularly Senator Higgins, who has been an unbelievable support. I also thank some of my colleagues who are here in the Chamber. From Sadaka, I thank Éamonn Meehan and Val Roche who are here, and Marie Crawley who could not be here; from Trócaire, Eoin Hamill, Selina Donnelly, Sinéad Loughran and Sibéal Devilly. I also thank Garry Walsh who was with Trócaire and is now with Oxfam Ireland, and Fiona Ryan. These are all people with whom I have worked so closely. I also thank Karol Balfe from Action Aid Ireland and the Palestinian ambassador. It has been an unbelievable journey. Of course, I am not forgetting Conor O'Neill and Gerry Liston who are the drafters of the original Bill and then my own PA, Emma Quearney, who has been my rock. All of those people have been so important to me over the last eight years. It has been an incredible journey. I know we have not got services. I thank the Minister because she has always been straight up with me. She has never promised me something she could not deliver. Being honest, I cannot say that about all of the Ministers I have met. She has always been straight up. She never made any promises. I also know she is passionate about what is going on in Palestine and I believe she is doing her very best in Europe. I am going to fight tooth and nail for services when I get back. I hope to continue the negotiations with the Minister in September. We have had many meetings this year and I will continue to have those meetings with her. I really believe we will get services at some point. I have said that to the Minister many times. I really want to thank the activists and all the people who have been out marching for the past - I do not know how many - years and have supported this. I have travelled the length and breadth of this country to have public meetings. I said to the Minister when we had our last meeting that I was in Kerry up a mountain not too long ago where we spoke to a packed meeting about the occupied territories Bill and everybody wanted to know about services. It is incredible how people have taken such an interest in this Bill. I could not do any of it without all of those people I mentioned - I hope I have not forgotten somebody. My husband who is here has also been my rock, as has my family. It is the activists but it is also the Palestinian people who we are all here for. We cannot stop this work. We have to keep going. We have to never give up. I have said to the Minister that we need full sanctions. We absolutely need full sanctions and we need to do what we did back in 1984 around South Africa. I will continue to keep going and I will get there as long as I am still in this Chamber. As long as I am still a politician I will never ever give up. None of us should ever give up. I finished on this last week when I spoke and I really mean it: none of us are free until the Palestinian people are free. It represents what is happening in the world. It is absolutely outrageous. That young woman asked why the international community has given up on them, while I sitting around a conference table in Gaza with all of the NGO groups. I do not know if they are dead or alive. I do not know who is alive or dead at this point, and I am sure that little community hall is gone. She asked why the international community has given up on them, but I really believe the Irish people have not given up on the Palestinian people. We just need to keep going and never, ever give up on them because, honestly, their freedom is absolutely key on the world stage. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire for coming to the Chamber and I also thank her team. I look forward to our meetings in September when I will bring in the legislation on services. I thank everybody here tonight. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. 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