There has been no decision yet on whether to exclude services from the Occupied Territories Bill, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
However, he believed such a move would “damage the country [Ireland] more than in any way put pressure on Israel”.
The Government is under pressure from the Opposition to widen the scope of the bill to ban trade in services with Israeli settlements and not just ban trade in goods.
Speaking in Cork on Friday, Mr Martin said the Government had to take in to account anti-boycott legislation in the United States which was introduced to protect Israel.
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“I think we have a duty to say to people: You know there are implications and consequences beyond our control. [There is] the anti-boycott and divestments legislation in many states in the US. It would put many of those companies who are not involved at all – it would put them under pressure.
“It wouldn’t have any consequential impact on Israel but rather it could have a more damaging impact on Ireland. That was never the intention of the legislation.”
Mr Martin was speaking after Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, told Reuters the bill would be limited to the import of goods and it would not become law this year.
“It’s an extremely limited measure, which would prohibit imports of goods from illegally-occupied territories,” Mr Byrne said in an interview. “Similar measures have already been brought in a number of European countries.”
Mr Martin said, however, “there is a decision yet to be taken on that at Government level”.
In his interview, Mr Byrne declined to say when the bill would be sent to parliament. “It’s certainly not going to be implemented this year,” he said.
Limiting the Bill to goods would catch just a handful of products imported from Israeli-occupied territories such as fruit that are worth just €200,000 a year.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said, in reaction, to Mr Byrne’s comments on the bill that Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee is to bring forward an update to Cabinet.
“I think it may be on the agenda on Tuesday. I know what Minister [Thomas] Byrne has said, and I’ll wait to see what the presentation is when it’s given at Cabinet,” he said.
Senator Frances Black, who proposed the Bill, told Reuters she would push to include a ban on services. “It will take a lot of work in the new year to get services included but that’s exactly what I’m prepared to do.”
MEP Barry Andrews urged Dublin to go ahead with its occupied territories Bill. “Claims that Ireland is anti-Semitic are nonsense,” he said. “Ireland has nothing to fear. We are no longer the only ones doing this.”
On Wednesday, Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf was forced to abandon a public speech in Dublin by pro-Palestinian protesters objecting to the Central Bank’s earlier role in the sale of Israeli bonds. – Additional reporting Reuters
