'Utterly immoral': Government criticised for delay to Occupied Territories Bill

Labour’s Duncan Smith and Senator Frances Black criticise the Government for delaying the Occupied Territories Bill

Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the OTB will not happen during the spring session. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

It would be "utterly immoral" for the Government to break its election promise by scrapping or watering down the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB).

Labour's Duncan Smith said the Government cannot continue to "kick this can down the road" after Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the OTB will not happen during the spring session.

Mr Martin said that the Bill is being progressed and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris is looking at the amendments that are to be included in a new bill.

"It will not happen in the spring session because most of the bills we have put on the Order Paper are drafted and ready to go," Mr Martin told the Dáil, remarking on the short time between now and the Easter break.

Mr Smith said the OTB is about real action and sends a clear message that Ireland does not profit from the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.

"This is about sending a message to the people of Palestine. A message that Ireland sees their suffering, Ireland stands with them, and Ireland will not turn a blind eye," he said.

Speaking in the Seanad today, Senator Frances Black who first tabled the bill in 2018, said the situation in Gaza has plunged deeper into crisis in the seven years since the legislation was introduced.

"Before the election the Government fully committed to supporting this Bill, but now it is obviously proposing its own version," Ms Black said.

"As far as I am concerned, I do no care who brings in the bill, to be honest, whether it is me or the Government. It does not matter. What matters here is the policy."

She questioned whether the Government's new bill would comply with international law as laid out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) "or will it include exemptions and weaken the mandate".

Ms Black said the ICJ's finding states that the occupation and settlements are illegal and there is an obligation on all States not to trade with them.

The is no ambiguity and trade means trade, she said, warning that politically challenging aspects cannot simply be ignored.

"In 2014, Ireland and the EU quickly banned trade in goods and services with the Russian-occupied territory and this ban was implemented within months of Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine," Ms Black said.

"Why should there be a double standard? There should not be. International law must be applied equally and consistently, otherwise it means nothing."