No justification for exclusion of services from the Occupied Territories Bill

Sir, – As the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026, described by Trócaire as “a watered-down version of the Occupied Territories Bill”, goes through its final Dáil stages this week, we must examine the Government’s claims about the necessity of excluding services from the scope of the Bill and in particular its reliance on recent advice from the Attorney General to justify their position.

As a minister in the previous coalition government, Green Party TD Roderic O’Gorman was privy to the extensive legal advice that the Attorney General provided on this matter throughout his tenure. He said that “in 23 pages, there was not one reference to a need to make a distinction between goods and services”.

In a global context, the International Court of Justice said in a July 2024 advisory opinion that “member States are under an obligation… to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. This advisory opinion, acknowledged by the Irish Government as a pivotal development, made no distinction between goods and services.

There is no justification for the Government’s exclusion of services from the scope of this Bill. Our legislators must fulfil their legal and moral obligations, and legislate in full to end Ireland’s complicity in the Israeli state’s war crimes. – Yours, etc,