Ireland’s plan to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine would be “very difficult to enforce”, Government officials have privately stated.
The Occupied Territories Bill also “might pose problems” for businesses, including multinationals based in Ireland, according to internal Department of Enterprise briefing material.
There is also a warning that Ireland raising barriers to goods legally available elsewhere in the European Union would be “in breach of European law and expose Ireland to potential legal action by the European Commission”.
A briefing note prepared by the department’s trade division offers insight into hurdles the new Government will likely face in bringing in any legislation to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
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The original Occupied Territories Bill aimed at banning goods or services from the illegal Israeli settlement was first put forward by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018.
It was stalled by successive governments over concerns it could fall foul of EU trade rules.
The last coalition got fresh legal advice on the Bill after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion stating that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were in breach of international law.
The then coalition leaders subsequently indicated support for progressing a reworked version of the legislation.
After the general election the new Government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independent TDs committed to progressing legislation prohibiting goods from Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In recent weeks Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “virtually every section” of the existing Bill would need to be amended and suggested it would be replaced by a new piece of legislation.
The Department of Enterprise briefing note – released, partially redacted, to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act – was sent to its secretary general Declan Hughes on October 15th, the day after the then-coalition leaders were briefed on the updated legal advice on the Occupied Territories Bill.
The note outlines the effect of the Bill – which would “make it a criminal offence for a person or company to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory”.
It also set out the Bill’s history and how the Department of Foreign Affairs “led on the Government’s opposition” to it in the Seanad.
Along with the highlighting the issues with European law, the note says: “At a practical level, these measures would be very difficult to enforce, since imports from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory do not generally arrive in Ireland directly but are transported via another EU member state. Goods arriving in Ireland from another EU member state would not usually be subject to checks.”
It adds: “Implementing these measures might pose problems for some businesses based in Ireland, including multinationals, which do not usually operate different regimes between Ireland and other EU countries.”
It also mentions how the EU has labelling measures for goods from Israeli settlements but says “no EU system exists to identify services imports from the settlements.”
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