Confirmation today that the government intends omitting services from the Occupied Territories Bill is shocking but not surprising, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n
Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n
\u201cMinister of State Thomas Byrne let the cat out of the bag in an interview today when he confirmed services would be omitted from the Occupied Territories Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his interview with Reuters, the Minister said that the Bill \u2018would not be introduced this year\u2019 – a decision which is shocking but not surprising.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust over a year ago, during the election, Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael vowed to prioritise the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill. Given the clear breach of this commitment, why should the public believe anything their Ministers have to say on this matter – or any other?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe timeline for the passing of this Bill has been pushed out time and time again, while innocent children continue to be massacred in Gaza as part of Israel\u2019s genocide of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the government\u2019s insistence that it is doing all it can to support the people of Palestine, it is clear that it is not willing to do anything meaningful to sanction Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision to omit services from this Bill suggests the government is crumbling under pressure from the US. Ireland must stand strong in the face of this onslaught and do what\u2019s right for the people of Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should also be noted that this Bill, with goods and services included, is an essential requirement for this State to ensure it is in compliance with a 2024 judgment from the International Court of Justice on the illegality of Israel\u2019s settlements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI urge the government to reconsider this craven stance and legislate in line with its legal obligations and the wishes of the Irish people, who overwhelmingly support sanctioning Israel in a significant way.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 12th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Confirmation today that the government intends omitting services from the Occupied Territories Bill is shocking but not surprising, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cMinister of State Thomas Byrne let the cat out of the bag in an interview today when he confirmed services would be omitted from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12306,"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-14761","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":"\n