Tánaiste Simon Harris has lobbied the European Commission in recent weeks to avoid responsibility for the approval of Israeli state bonds reverting to Ireland from September.
The development follows a decision by Luxembourg – which agreed to act as the approval body for Israeli bonds in September 2025 – not to accept the role for a second year.
Harris has spoken in person to European commissioner for financial services Maria Luís Albuquerque about the prospect of Ireland becoming the EU state responsible for approving the prospectus for Israeli state bonds, which Opposition parties have said are used to raise money for its military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Due to Luxembourg’s move, responsibility will revert to the Central Bank of Ireland, which has been the designated “home” state for Israeli bonds since the UK left the European Union in 2016.
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In a reply to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty, Harris said he had directed senior officials in his department to engage with the European Commission on the matter in recent weeks.
He said officials had subsequently liaised with their counterparts in the commission, drawing attention to the work of the Oireachtas, in particular a recommendation by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance that the Prospectus Regulation be amended.
“This engagement reflected my view that the commission should have regard to the report and its findings.
“I have raised this issue and the Government’s views with commissioner Albuquerque, in person and by letter,” said Harris.
Doherty said on Thursday the State “cannot continue to play a role facilitating Israel fundraising for that genocide”.
“I introduced legislation to end Ireland involvement with Israeli war bonds last year, but Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents shamefully voted against it,” he said.
The Central Bank has consistently said it is legally obliged to approve prospectuses once they contain all the information required under EU prospectus rules. The Government has maintained that the process is technical and that Ireland has never bought the bonds.
Israel traditionally had its European bond prospectuses approved in the UK, but turned to the Central Bank after Brexit. The Israeli state bonds are marketed by the Development Company for Israel (International) Ltd, which sells debt on behalf of the Israeli state.
Opposition parties have argued that the bonds amount to war bonds and have been used to raise funds for Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. A Sinn Féin Private Members’ Bill in 2025 seeking to prevent the Central Bank from dealing with the bonds was defeated in the Dáil. However, two Government TDs, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, voted with the Opposition.
The Luxembourg regulator indicated in July that it would not assess the Israeli prospectus for a second year, meaning responsibility has reverted to Ireland.
The Bank of Israel must submit an application for its prospectus by the end of August, but it is understood no application has yet been received in Ireland. The Irish Times contacted the Bank of Israel for comment but received no response.
A spokeswoman for the Central Bank said it was bound by statutory professional secrecy obligations and could not disclose information relating to “live supervisory matters”.
Last year, the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on Finance, chaired by Mairéad Farrell, recommended that the Government engage at EU level to amend the Prospectus Regulation. It said a new regulation was needed to allow individual European central banks to refuse to act as the competent authority for such prospectuses.
The committee concluded that it was not in Ireland’s best interests to approve the prospectuses, arguing that doing so further assists the financing of Israel’s violations of human rights and contraventions of international law.
