Carlow senator pushes for action on Israel trade ban bill
Senator Patricia Stephenson: 'Ireland has a real chance to be bold and brave – and to lead by example'
A CARLOW-based senator is calling on the government to act quickly on controversial legislation that would ban trade with Israeli settlements after a key committee found no legal barriers to making the ban more comprehensive. Senator Patricia Stephenson, who lives on the Carlow/Kilkenny border between Castlecomer and Old Leighlin, says Ireland has a chance to “lead by example” with the .
The Social Democrats politician, who represents Carlow/Kilkenny in the Seanad, wants the bill to cover both goods and services from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. Until now, there had been uncertainty about whether including services would create legal problems.
But the 31 July report from the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee found there’s no legal reason why services can’t be included alongside goods in the ban.
“Ireland has a real chance to be bold and brave – and to lead by example,” said senator Stephenson, who serves as her party’s foreign affairs spokesperson. “There are countries in Europe and globally that will be closely watching what we do over the next few weeks.”
The committee’s findings were based on evidence from top EU and international lawyers. Crucially, politicians from different parties agreed that the fear of legal challenges shouldn’t be used as an excuse to water down the legislation.
Senator Stephenson, who was elected to the Seanad in January of this year, believes the bill could become a template for other countries to follow. She pointed to an International Court of Justice ruling that found Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and that countries shouldn’t support the settlements through trade.
The senator criticised delays in getting legal advice from the attorney general, calling the wait “unacceptable”. She argued the government shouldn’t be afraid of Ireland becoming a test case if the law faces challenges in EU courts.
“In the face of ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, Ireland now has an opportunity to show leadership on the world stage,” she said. “It is an opportunity we should not squander.”
The has been years in the making, with ongoing debates about how far trade restrictions should go and whether they would conflict with EU trade rules.
