Government must publish advice behind watered-down Occupied Territories Bill – Smith
Government must publish advice behind watered-down Occupied Territories Bill – Smith - The Labour Party
- If Britain can act on goods and services in illegal settlements, why won’t Ireland?
- Labour calls for publication of the Attorney General’s advice on excluding services.
Labour foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith TD has called on Government to publish the advice behind its decision to exclude services from the Occupied Territories Bill. His call follows the UK’s announcement that it will ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements and seek new powers to target people and companies involved in settlement activity, including through services.
Deputy Smith said:
“Government claims that the Attorney General’s advice prevents it from including services in the Occupied Territories Bill. Yet the UK has announced plans to go beyond a goods ban and target the finance, construction and other services that support illegal settlements.
“The Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee previously recommended including services in the Bill. Government chose a watered-down Bill. If legal obstacles stand in the way, it should publish the advice from the Attorney General, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Enterprise that led them to being so sure of taking this action. Ireland should be taking the strongest action it can to challenge Israel’s actions in Palestine.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot keep citing legal advice that nobody can see while asking the public to accept a weaker Bill. I’m calling on Government to publish the advice, explain why services were excluded and bring forward the strongest Occupied Territories Bill possible.”