Ireland at risk of legal action if it passes the Occupied Territories Bill, Micheál Martin says

There were testy exchanges at Dáil committee, with Sinn Féin saying delay of the bill by the Government was 'absolutely unacceptable'

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said there would need to be 'substantive' amendments to the bill, while citing the existing proposal was 'incompatible with EU law and the Constitution'.

Ireland is at risk of facing legal action if it implements the Occupied Territories Bill, Micheál Martin has said.

The Tánaiste said there would need to be “substantive” amendments to the bill, while citing the existing proposal was “incompatible with EU law and the Constitution”.

In his opening statement to the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee, Mr Martin said there were exceptional grounds where EU member states can break trade links.

However, he said: “These grounds have never been used by a member state before in similar circumstances.

“There therefore remains a legal risk if we do take our own domestic measures,” Mr Martin said.

However, the Tánaiste said a recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank allowed for a review of the Occupied Territories Bill.

Testy exchanges

There were testy exchanges at the committee, particularly between Mr Martin and Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesperson Matt Carthy over the passage of the bill.

Mr Carthy said the delay of the bill by the Government was “absolutely unacceptable in the highest order”, saying Mr Martin was attempting to frustrate its passage.

He questioned Mr Martin on the exact amendments that would be required to pass the bill and whether it would include services as well as goods from the occupied territories.

There were calls to outline exactly the changes to the bill that would be made, if Fianna Fáil are returned to government after the general election.

The Tánaiste said Fianna Fáil had “always had a strong tradition of supporting Palestinian self-determination” and he would not take lectures from Sinn Féin on the matter.

“I would have more respect for your position if I had seen the Sinn Féin party more robust in the United States where you have considerable influence and you raise a lot of money,” Mr Martin said.

“Your silence in the United States on the Palestinian question has been extraordinary.”

Interjecting, Mr Carthy said: “That is bullshit and you know it.

It’s not true and you do this all the time rather than answer the question and the charges that have been put to you, you try and deflect.

However, the Tánaiste pushed back on passing the bill within the final days of the Dáil, but said amendments would be ready for the new government coming into office.

“I cannot ram a bill through that is unconstitutional. That’s essentially what you’ve asked me,” Mr Martin said amid interjections from Mr Carthy that Fianna Fáil initially introduced the Occupied Territories Bill in 2019.

The matter of the Occupied Territories Bill was also raised in the Dáil chamber on Tuesday, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald saying the government had used “every excuse under the sun” to block its passage.

“This bill should go to committee stage this afternoon. It should come to the floor of the Dáil this week to complete all stages and when we go to the people for the election, it should be on the statute book,” Ms McDonald said.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik also called for all stages of the bill to be passed this week, saying it was “vital” meaningful sanctions were placed on Israel.

In response, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he believed there was a consensus on the bill and everyone wanted to see it passed.

However, he said the Dáil wanted to see “legislation passed that is not going to fall at the first hurdle or in the European courts”.

“We have to get this legislation correct,” he added.