Sir, – In singling out the Occupied Territories Bill for special mention as an example of Private Members' Bills blocked by the Government, Gerry Liston, in his letter of September 27th, is perhaps too modest to mention his role as one of its drafters. However, in truth, of all these Private Members' Bills, the Government has best cause to block this one.
As the Government fights to preserve the all-Ireland economy by ensuring that there is no different regulatory regime in the North, how can it accept new legislation that would impose a different regulation in the Republic to that in the North?
And as it seeks the support of our partners in the EU, how can the Government allow Ireland to adopt a unilateral measure of foreign trade policy which the European Commission regards as a flagrant violation of the EU’s exclusive competence? – Yours, etc,
JACKIE GOODALL,
Executive Director,
Ireland Israel Alliance,
Dublin 2.