The Occupied Territories Bill will be replaced by a new piece of legislation, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.
Speaking at a special Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis which is being held to ratify the new programme for government, Mr Martin said that “virtually every section” of the existing piece of legislation will need to be amended, and so it is likely that the incoming government will move to draft a new piece of legislation. He also said it wouldn’t be watered down.
Mr Martin was asked about reports in the Mail on Sunday that the Occupied Territories Bill was going to be scrapped because of fears it would damage Ireland’s corporate and diplomatic relations with the US.
“I’m not responsible for that report. What I can say is that I instructed my officials prior to the general election to work on amendments to the-then Occupied Territories Bill. All that work has been done and in fact, every single line - well, not every single line - but virtually every section of that Bill will have to be amended. So the issue is whether we have a new Bill, which I think we probably will move towards, a new Bill in respect of imports into Ireland from the occupied territories because I think it needs a full debate in the Dáil at second stage.”
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Asked if this new piece of legislation would be watered down, he said: “When you say watered down, I mean, no. In terms of the legislation it is acknowledged by all sides that the Bill was unconstitutional as drafted and in other areas was deficient.”
Mr Martin’s made the comments as the long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas finally came into effect on Sunday.
The Occupied Territories Bill was put forward by the Opposition in 2018 but was blocked for years by the Government over concerns it could fall foul of EU trade rules. The contentious proposed law had outlined a ban on trade with Israeli firms operating in occupied Palestinian territory. In the weeks before the general election, the Government committed to supporting a reworked version of the legislation.
Independent Senator Frances Black originally introduced the draft law.
Mr Martin was also asked about an ongoing row over the fact that some members of the Regional Independent Group (RIG) want to remain on the opposition benches despite its members planning to serve in government.
He said “the public aren’t excited about an issue like that.” He said he would take advice on the matter and form an opinion then.
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