Bill banning occupied territories goods passed in Dáil

A long-awaited bill banning Israeli goods from the occupied territories in Palestine has passed the final stage in the Dáil without including services from the region.

The Government-drafted Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) bill passed through its report and final stages in the Dáil on Tuesday without a vote.

It will now be sent to the Seanad next week and, if it as likely is also passed by the Upper House, will be signed into law at that point.

The bill is a renewed version of the original Occupied Territories Bill first drafted by Independent senator Frances Black almost a decade ago in 2018.

This original bill included a call for a ban on both goods and services, however, despite an Oireachtas foreign affairs committee recommending both would be included, Government has said its legal advice is that this would present too big an appeal risk.

This has led to repeated clashes between the coalition and the opposition, the majority of which believe the bill will be ineffective unless it includes both goods and services.

On Tuesday, the Dáil heard a number of opposition amendments to the Government bill during a curtailed 90-minute debate.

Sinn Féin's foreign affairs spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire argued for the inclusion of an amendment to ensure Palestinians in illegal Israeli settlements continue to be able to export their goods.

Speaking in support of the amendment, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said the matter had been explored at committee stage, and said that the arguments expressed at that stage still stood.

That amendment was defeated with Fine Gael TD and minister of state for international development and the diaspora, Neale Richmond, saying Government saw it as being unnecessary to achieve the outcome all sides in the Dáil want - namely that Palestinians continue to be able to export their goods.

Speaking during the final stage debate on bill, Labour's foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith said Government is "effectively watering down" the original bill.

Deputy Smith said "services take up 70%" of Ireland's interactions with Israel and the occupied territories, and that the bill will not go far enough unless services as well as goods are included.

The Labour TD added it is "a fallacy" for Government to say it would be technically difficult to include services, before alleging Ireland is "bowing to influence and pressure from the US" and with the wording of the bill "does not represent the will of the Irish people".

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger raised similar concerns, saying "the Government has never explained how Spain and Slovenia could do it [include both goods and services], and Ireland can't".

Deputy Coppinger continued that while the bill began almost a decade ago from the original document drafted by Independent senator Frances Black, "what you now have is... it's not even a mutation of that".

Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney added that "there was no reason for the ping pong" nature of what has happened with the bill in recent years.

Independent TD Barry Heneghan, who has voted with Government on previous unrelated debates, voted with the opposition in terms of calls for both goods and services to be included, repeated many of the opposition concerns.

However, Minister for state for international development and the diaspora and Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond disagreed with the criticism, saying the Spanish bill was in part due to a "royal decree" on its details.

He added that US pressure claims are a "conspiracy theory" as he has travelled to the US a number of times during the development of the bill and "not once" has pressure been placed on him or those with him.

The bill was passed by the Dáil without a vote and will now be debated in the Seanad next week, the final days before the summer recess. If it is also passed as expected by the Seanad, it will be signed into law.