SENATOR FRANCES BLACK has said she is “really concerned” that questions about the timeline for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill are being met with “vague answers and no detail” from government leaders. 

The independent Senator, who first proposed the legislation which would ban imports from occupied territories back in 2018, said she met Tánaiste Simon Harris several times earlier this year when he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs to go through the legislation in detail. She also met officials from the Department. 

Black said that during her meetings with the Tánaiste, Harris repeatedly said the government would not roll back on the promises it made “when things were at their worst” in Gaza. 

“I want to believe that this is true, but the way to prove it is to move the legislation in the Dáil and give us some actual information on the government’s plans,” she told The Journal. 

The enactment of the government’s version of the Occupied Territories Bill continues to be uncertain with both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste refusing to set out a timeline last week.

While the new Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee has assured the public that there are no plans to drop the legislation, no firm timeframe has been outlined by this government as to when it will be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. 

The enactment of the bill is one small contribution Ireland can make, said the Senator. 

She said: 

To me it’s a test of whether the Government actually meant what it said at the height of the genocide.

It is understood Senator Black is yet to get a meeting with the new foreign affairs minister. 

As Christmas approaches, and pressure ramps up from the Opposition to pass the legislation before the Dáil breaks for the holidays, Black said she is not just concerned about the delays, but also the lack of information coming from government on a timeline. 

She said the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee spent weeks over the summer hearing from experts and considering the evidence.

‘Radio silence from Government’

“But since then it has been radio silence, and every Dáil question is met with vague answers and no detail. The Bill is in the Programme for Government, it’s listed as a priority for the Autumn Dáil session, but we’re now in December it’s nowhere to be seen. It isn’t good enough and people are right to feel frustrated.

“The key thing people need to know is this: we now have a partial ceasefire in Gaza, in which people continue to be killed, so the issue has started to recede from media and political attention,” she said. 

Black said this is exactly the moment where there is a need to deliver on Ireland’s promises, and not walk back from them.

“To do so would be accepting a return to the failed status quo, and we will just be back here in another year or two once again calling for a ceasefire,” she added. 

“The only thing that can ever make this ceasefire permanent is if we do our part and help to address the actual root causes. That is what this Bill is about, it’s what it’s been about since I first tabled it in 2018,” added Black.

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The Senator said that Israeli settlements continue to be built illegally on occupied Palestinian land, stating that trade from Irish and EU companies is helping to pay for it.

‘A test for this Government’

The Attorney General gave detailed legal advice on the legislation over a year ago, the Senator pointed out, adding that other eminent legal experts also told the Dáil’s Foreign Affairs Committee in July that this is very much doable, if the political will is there.

Black highlighted that several other EU countries have now moved ahead and fully passed their own legislation, including Spain. Spain has significant trade with the US companies, all of which continue to operate there. How can Spain achieve in one month what we’ve been debating for nearly eight years, she asked. 

“Endless legal advice is not what’s needed, it’s political will to bring the Bill to the Dáil, face down the threats being made, and deliver on the very clear promises made pre-election and what this Government have accepted is legally required of us under international law,” said Black. 

The Tánaiste said last week that government leaders will meet with the foreign affairs minister and Attorney General to “consider how best to progress the legislation”. 

“We’ll comment on a timeline at that point,” he said, reiterating that the government remains committed to progressing the legislation. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Ireland has “always stood on the side of international law” and that this has informed the government’s approach to the war in Gaza, and that is why it is progressing the Occupied Territories Bill.