No. It was not.

I thank the Senators. I will try to cover all of the different points. While I appreciate we are speaking to one or two amendments, a lot of different issues have been raised. To be honest, I have avoided touching on this point in any of the debates because, as far as I am concerned, it is somewhat irrelevant, but it has been said a number of times in this debate that the Government is rowing back on commitments what we have made. The programme for Government changes and whatever we set or agree can be changed or a…

I will come back on two points. In terms of our obligations, I am not saying one takes precedence over the other. The international court made it clear that there is a legal obligation on Europe to comply. However, under European treaties, we have legal obligations and international legal obligations within them. The Union has exclusive competence in external trade. For the reasons I have outlined, we have to comply with that. It is appropriate we comply with our international legal obligations under the Internatio…

I fully appreciate amendment No. 3, with which the Senator has responded to the discussion and debate we had in the committee, where I outlined that the amendment saying "shall, within 3 months" potentially meant that any changes could not be included after those three months. The words "and may thereafter" has now been included to counter that issue. This may leave us back where we started. The legislation states: "The Minister may, by order, designate as a postal code". This allows for the Minister to include add…

Without opening up the previous debate, while it is not a full ban on trade in services, it is obviously partial. For the reasons I have outlined in the previous debate, we will not accept the amendment.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the complete destruction of many of the olive trees across the occupied territories but I fully appreciate what the Senators are saying about the objective of the Bill. From a legal perspective, it is important for us to make sure that the Bill aligns with the association agreement so that we can implement it. Again, it comes back to making sure that we have a Bill that we can implement, that is legally enforceable. The decision based on the location of the origin of a given good is a s…

The relevant penalties for this Bill are already set out in the Customs Act. They are on the Statute Book. The amendment proposes the creation of separate penalties, because there are a number of elements to this, only applicable to the Bill which would be different to the penalties already existing under the Customs Act. It is important we adhere to the Customs Act already on the Statute Book. For the avoidance of doubt, section 21 of the Customs Act also provides for proceedings to be brought against a body corpo…

There are standing orders in relation to post-enactment reporting which will, of course, be complied with. Standing Order 204 of the Dáil states: Twelve months following the enactment of a Bill, save in the case of the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill, the member of the Government or Minister of State who is officially responsible for implementation of the Act shall provide a report which shall review the functioning of the Act and which shall be laid in the Parliamentary Library. The amendment would add new…

Apologies, I spoke to this on the previous amendment. It is the case already that any of the documents relating to this are on the Department’s website. Once the legislation is enacted all the details will be there for people to see but also will be on the Revenue website. With the passage of the legislation, it can be certain that it will be known that it has passed so, through our website and the Revenue website, people will be able to see the details of the Bill. Most importantly, work has already started on the…

No. I think it is appropriate to leave the last word to Senator Black. I thank everybody here.

I wish Senators a good evening. I am pleased to introduce the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 to the Seanad. I acknowledge in particular the role played by Senator Black and others in advancing the issues that are at the very core of this legislation. The Bill has generated debate not just within the Oireachtas but across Irish society and internationally. The depth of feeling in this House and also in the Dáil is shared and understood by me …

I, too, condemn the attacks last night. It makes it all the more important - in terms of our focus and priority during the Presidency - to ensure that we do everything possible, not just to support Ukraine but also to maintain pressure on Russia. That is something we very much communicated and engaged directly on with President Zelenskyy yesterday. I thank the Deputy for raising this question. As a country, we are monitoring the humanitarian situation in Cuba. I very much echo the UN Secretary General's concern at …

As time previously did not allow, I wish to stress that the European Commission is providing financial support. For all the reasons the Deputy outlined, it is important that humanitarian aid and support is provided. There is €2 million in aid in response to the crisis currently. That follows €4 million of EU funding approved as a regional allocation to the Caribbean, which was primarily allocated to the response in Cuba. In 2025, almost €6 million was provided for disaster preparedness and emergency response. A twi…

There are two things here. We need to make sure the European and international community are very clear in our view and position on this. Ireland has been very clear and taken a very clear position. Over a number of years, although we are discussing the fact things have escalated further, we have had ongoing dialogue and contact with the US on a range of international issues. That includes Cuba. We have relayed and conveyed our concerns directly with them. We have communicated our position on the US embargo, the im…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 8, 20, 38, 60 and 65 together. I thank the Deputies for tabling these questions. The Government approved the text of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 on 26 May. The Bill was published on 29 May and was introduced in Dáil Éireann on 10 June. It is very much my intention that the legislation will complete the parliamentary approval process by the summer recess. I thank Deputies for working with me to ensur…

I disagree with Deputy O'Gorman when he says that it is not effective because over the last number of months, I have seen a number of member states advocating for a stronger response. Last year, when there had not been any kind of a ceasefire, more member states had started to change their positions, and that is why we had the suspension of the association agreement put on the table by the Commission as a possible option for member states to vote on. At that stage, a ceasefire was agreed, but we all agree that the …

I want to outline where we are at the moment. The Commission already has a proposal on the table that would suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. That was put on the table last year, but it has never been voted on. This is a vote that would require unanimity within the Foreign Affairs Council and, being honest, I do not believe there is that unanimity. There are a number of member states that have clearly said that they will not vote for this. That does not stop me or Ireland continuing to advocate for a vot…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which follows on from the discussion I have just had with Deputies O’Gorman and Ó Murchú. National governing bodies, NGBs, of sport and international sporting federations, including the FAI, are independent, autonomous bodies responsible for the governance of their own sports, including the organisation of sporting fixtures. The Government and Sport Ireland have no role in determining or supporting the organisation of such fixtures, and I have not had meetings to discuss I…

The Deputy is right in that sense, but “above us” is talking about UEFA. I fully accept that the FAI has pressed for the exclusion of Israel from UEFA, and it is its right to do so. However, there is a lack of consensus among UEFA members beyond that and, indeed, among international sporting bodies more generally in relation to the exclusion of Israel from international sporting competitions. Similar to the Council, where there is a very clear view from a number of member states, including Ireland, that we need to …

Ireland has led. The Deputy might not agree with me, he might not believe that, but Ireland has led and we are leading. I would say that the FAI is leading in that regard as well. It has made its position very clear, and I support the position that it has taken. I support the views that it has, but that is the position it has taken. It is not the position that UEFA as a whole has taken. It is not for the Irish Government to decide what matches happen, where they happen or whether they are cancelled or otherwise. Th…