Speaking as the Dáil prepared to pass the Government’s version of the Occupied Territories Bill, Conor O'Neill, one of the original Bill’s drafters, Head of Policy at Christian Aid Ireland and spokesperson for the civil society campaign of over 46 organisations, said:
“This was an opportunity to take the huge public interest and demand for real action on Palestine and do something ambitious, but the Government has failed to take it. About 70% of Ireland’s external trade is in services. By exempting these flows from the Bill, the Government is implementing a trade ban that deliberately omits the vast majority of Irish trade. It is letting large US multinationals providing tech, IT and other service-based trade to illegal Israeli settlements off the hook. We rightly condemn the settlements as war crimes, but Irish companies will continue to be able to provide them with crucial support.”
“This matters not just for the politics, but also because of the law. The Irish Government is passing legislation that they knowingly and openly recognise will leave us in breach of our obligations under international law. In 2024 the International Court of Justice held that the Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are illegal, and that because of this all countries must end all trade with and investment in them. The Government has accepted this and recognised that its legislation will therefore leave us in breach of our international law obligations. At a time when the rule of law globally is being badly eroded this is a deeply worrying precedent to set.”
ENDS
Notes to editor:
Government acceptance that the Bill does not meet Ireland’s obligations under international law:
- ICJ AO 2024: The basis for the Government’s shift on the OTB was the historic Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, the top court in the UN system. The court held that the Israeli occupation is illegal, the settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are illegal, and crucially that because of this all countries are obliged to end trade and economic support for them. The ICJ found (para 278) that “all states are under an obligation to […] abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings” and “prevent trade or investment relations” with the settlements.
- Govt accept this obligation: In an analysis of the Bill published by the DFA in June 2026, the Irish Government stated that “considering the Advisory Opinion in the wider context of international law… the only reasonable reading of the ICJ Opinion is that a complete prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements is required.”
- Minister McEntee – goods only inconsistent with international law: During Committee Stage debate in the Dáil on June 23rd, Minister McEntee restated that a full ban, both goods and services, is required under international law, and that this legislation would therefore only “go towards compliance” and represent “partial compliance” with Ireland’s obligations under international law.
