{"id":13589,"date":"2025-09-23T16:26:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=13589"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:26:24","slug":"government-must-clarify-when-it-will-enact-the-occupied-territories-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/government-must-clarify-when-it-will-enact-the-occupied-territories-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Government must clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government\u2019s inability to clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill is shameful, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n

Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn response to Social Democrats party leader Holly Cairns during today\u2019s leaders’ questions, Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan said that the Occupied Territories Bill is considered priority legislation and that it would be introduced ‘this term’.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a helpful timeline given there are four years remaining in this D\u00e1il term and 51 pieces of legislation were designated a priority this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this legislation was really a priority for government, there would be a clear timeline and a date for when it will become law.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor two years now, we have watched in horror as a genocide unfolds in Gaza. While this government has excelled at issuing strong statements, it has failed abysmally when it comes to taking action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will it take for this government to treat the progression of the Occupied Territories Bill with the urgency the people of Palestine deserve?<\/p>\n

\u201cEnacting legislation to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements was a solemn commitment of this government. It must immediately clarify when this will actually happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

September 23rd, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government\u2019s inability to clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill is shameful, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cIn response to Social Democrats party leader Holly Cairns during today\u2019s leaders’ questions, Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan said that the Occupied Territories Bill is considered priority legislation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408,529,595,738,641,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foreign-affairs","category-gaza","category-occupied-territories-bill","category-palestine","category-patricia-stephenson","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment must clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/government-must-clarify-when-it-will-enact-the-occupied-territories-bill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government must clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The government\u2019s inability to clarify when it will enact the Occupied Territories Bill is shameful, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. 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