Central Bank of Ireland
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Cian O'Callaghan (SD), Dublin Bay North

I support any engagement the Minister is having with the EU Commission on this. However, we have independent advice from the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers that Ireland could indeed take action to restrict Israeli bonds. It concludes that there is a case for unilateral Irish action on this if it is framed on public policy grounds. I have given the Minister the reasons it could be framed on such grounds, and I have also cited the relevant article of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The Minister has options on this beyond EU-level engagement. It would be great if something positive came out of that, but he knows well that it may not because achieving consensus at European level is very difficult. The Government has options to take domestic restrictive measures that would mean the Central Bank would then have a legal basis for taking restrictive measures regarding the Israeli war bonds. Will the Minister take these? It is imperative that the Government act owing to the ongoing killing of Palestinian people in Gaza, and also in the West Bank. Will the Minister do that?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25