Letters to the Editor: Central Bank ‘must stop funding genocide’

Palestinians line up for a meal in Rafah. 'Daily, we are seeing the ever-worsening genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza'. Picture: Fatima Shbair/AP

We are deeply concerned that the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) is acting as the regulator of Israel bonds in Europe, thereby facilitating their sale.

Israel bonds directly fund the genocide in Gaza. Established in 1951, the bonds raise funds for the Israeli treasury for use across the Israeli economy which includes the financing of the apartheid system, the Israeli military, and illegal settlements. They are now explicitly being marketed as ‘war bonds’. Israeli president Isaac Herzog has lauded “the crucial role of Israel bonds during this time of conflict and war”.

By providing the gateway into Europe for Israel bonds, the CBI is making itself complicit in funding genocide and apartheid.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January confirmed the plausibility of the charge of genocide against Israel. In June, the UN’s International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine found that Israel’s actions in Gaza “constitute the war crimes of wilful killing and mistreatment, and the crime against humanity of extermination”.

A further ICJ ruling in July declared that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid and that the entire regime of military occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and must end immediately. In September, the UN General Assembly voted in favour of imposing sanctions on Israel, recognising that the ICJ ruling triggered the legal obligation of all states to end complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime. Ireland was among the 124 countries that voted for this.

Daily, we are seeing the ever-worsening genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel, backed by the US, is bombarding homes, hospitals, schools and refugee camps; murdering and mutilating children; prohibiting aid from getting in, and using starvation as a weapon of war. There is no safe place in Gaza.

The CBI, in facilitating the sale of Israel bonds, is in breach of the Genocide Convention and is violating the legal obligation to end complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its illegal occupation and apartheid regime.

Under EU law (Regulation 2017/18, Article 32), CBI has the power — and the responsibility — to refuse to validate Israel bonds on the grounds that the ICJ has found that Israel is plausibly committing genocide, and on the technical grounds that the Israel bonds prospectus lacks “completeness,” given that the funding of genocide, a core function and risk factor, was omitted. We call on the Central Bank of Ireland to immediately cease its role in the funding of genocide in Gaza.

From Zoë Lawlor, chairperson, IPSC; Owen Reidy, general secretary, ICTU; Des Geraghty, former president of SIPTU and former director of the Central Bank; Katie Martin, coordinator, Afri; John Reynolds, Academics for Palestine; Jenny Maguire, Uachtarán, AMLCT/TCDSU; Caroline Murphy, CEO, Comhlámh; Ian McArdle, DGS, CWU; Thomas Mc Donagh, director, Financial Justice Ireland; Finn Geaney, president, Dublin Council of Trade Unions; David Hickey, Dubs for Palestine; Kevin Callinan, general secretary, Fórsa; John Boyle, general secretary, INTO; Jim Roche, PRO, Irish Anti-War Movement; Dr Geraldine Rochford, Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine; Gary Daly, Irish Lawyers for Palestine; Rebecca O’Keeffe, Irish Sport for Palestine; David Landy, Jews for Palestine (Ireland); Seán O’Briain Comhlámh – Justice for Palestine; Naomi Sheehan, Mothers Against Genocide; Dr Rebeccah Heslin, Psychologist for Palestine; Ethel Buckley, DGS, Siptu; David Waters, president, TUI; Mags O’Brien, Trade Union Friends of Palestine; Zak Hania, Gaza genocide survivor; Brian O’Boyle, ATU Sligo; Helen Mahony, IPSC Dublin

Voter turnout

What should be a matter of public discourse is the continuing downward trend in Irish voter turnout especially in general elections.

This 2024 general election turnout, at 59.1 %, has been the lowest in the past 100 years and ranks among the lowest in Europe.

As this figure of 59.1% is an average, it masks the disparity in voting patterns among socio-economic groups. Those citizens in more affluent constituencies with high levels of status, income, education, and asset ownership also have high levels of voter turnout, while those areas where lower socio-economic groups have poor voter turnout.

This disparity in voting turnout has an obvious political outcome in that the interests of the higher socio-economic groups in our society become over-represented in our Oireachtas and resultant national government policies will reflect these interests.

A vicious socio-economic cycle thus ensues where the interests of the rich continue, generation after generation, to be consolidated while the interests of the poor are continually neglected.

While both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael asked the electorate to vote them back into government to ensure economic stability either party failed to mention that our democratic and political stability is under threat unless they adopt policies to reverse this destabilising trend where the majority of lower socio-economic citizens in our society are losing faith in the ability of our liberal democratic state to ensure a just societal distribution of the fruits of our economic system

Brendan Butler, Drumcondra, Dublin 8

Value of the GAA

According to the first-of-its-kind research that was recently published about the social value of GAA games to the Irish economy, we learned that this entity is now worth €3bn to the Irish economy.

The first thing that this research did was to estimate the value of Gaelic games to the Irish economy and, in financial terms, the figure that the investigators came up with was €710m, in gross value added, which is an approximation for gross domestic product. That’s the value to the economy.

In addition, they also computed the value of Gaelic games to society and this is what they called the
social value. The social value to the economy is coming from all those people who buy food, drink, fuel, travel, and pay for public transport in getting to matches etc.

The amateur game in Ireland is run by volunteers who step up to the plate for their community and their clubs.

The researchers estimated the replacement cost of volunteering to be over €1bn. So if one had to pay for all the work that these volunteers do, that’s apparently the figure one would be looking at.

We now learn that the GAA is worth €3bn. I am sure that this organisation must be feeling pretty good about themselves on hearing the findings of this recent research.

John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Lean to the left

I could not agree more with Fergus Finlay’s advice for Labour. As a lifelong Labour voter (when I could find them on the ballot paper, they were not always present!) I agree that, by working with the Social Democrats on an agreed platform of social issues, there can be some hope in the future for social democracy.

It would be even better if some of the left-leaning Independents and People Before Profit could also see their way to sign up to that project. If there is not a cohesive and coherent left option we will go on in the same old way that has brought us to where we are.

And where we are is a country where, despite our wealth, too many of our young people have little or no hope of owning their own homes, where we will continue to have a two-tiered health service, and where public utilities provide private profit rather than public service.

Lee Healy, Ballincollig, Cork

Rugby power

Lots of debate on the merits of out halves during this period. I feel Jack Crowley did not get the consideration from a number of pundits and journalists for his contribution to wins over Argentina and Australia.

I am of the opinion that when
Ireland was struggling against Argentina it was his try, conversion, and drop goal that won the game for Ireland. When he came on against Australia, he brought an urgency to the game and it was his kick through which led to our lineout our subsequent try and his conversion that swung the game.

I believe it’s a given in rugby that a number 10 can pass, take the ball to the line, kick well, and convert, but all great 10s also score the hard tries where they crash through a tight defence.

Jack puts me in mind not of 10s but two Welsh 9s, Mike Philips And Terry Holmes whose raw power scored many tries in tight situations. Keep it going.

John Ryan, Mallow, Cork

Hutch should not be glamourised

Film-maker Jim Sheridan’s description of Gerard Hutch as “a felon... making good...” is precisely what’s wrong with the fawning coverage the latter gets.

Rather than turning a gangster into some sort of celebrity, perhaps we should be reminded of the lives lost in the Hutch-Kinahan feud and the families destroyed by associated criminal enterprises.

Only the electoral performance of Labour’s Marie Sherlock saved us from having our national parliament turned into a laughing stock.

Bernie Linnane, Dromahair, Co Leitrim

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