SOCIAL DEMOCRATS LEADER Holly Cairns has hit out at the government for allowing the Occupied Territories Bill to sit on a shelf and gather dust.

Speaking to The Journal today ahead of her party’s National Conference in Cork, where a keynote address was given by Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, Cairns said “the reality is that the genocide is continuing in Gaza”.

“There is, I think, a very clear call from the public that they want to enact the Occupied Territories Bill.

“I think the quiet bit that the government isn’t saying out loud is that they’re hoping that the public appetite will slowly dissipate,” he said.

“They promised all that they needed was a mandate and they would enact it, and instead, they’re either trying to gut it or shelve it,” she added. 

‘Not good enough’

The Social Democrat’s leader said “it simply isn’t good enough to say something in the advance of an election, get votes as a result of that, and then just completely abandon it”. 

Speaking to reporters later in the evening, Cairns said tonight she was “issuing a recall” to government to finally act and pass the legislation. 

She said those in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil made a solemn promise to enact the bill but instead it is “gathering dust somewhere in government buildings”. 

The Occupied Territories Bill, which was first introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018, proposed making it an offence “for a person to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory or to extract resources from an occupied territory in certain circumstances”.

The Government then amended the Bill to propose making it a crime under the Customs Act 2015 to import goods into Ireland that originate in Israeli settlements built over what is legally recognised as Palestinian land.

However, services such as tourism and IT are as of yet excluded in the latest draft of the legislation, something opposition TDs have repeatedly called for to be included. 

Last month, the Taoiseach denied the government was moving away from the passing the legislation, but did state that services was “non-implementable”.

“I’ve been consistent on that for quite some time now in terms of implementability of services,” he told RTÉ’s This Week programme.

He said there will be further discussions in respect of services with Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee. The minister has previously committed to passing the legislation.

SocDems leader Holy Cairns says no one is buying the government’s ‘excuses’ when it comes to the Occupied Territories Bill. pic.twitter.com/Eg8qPDNkQ8

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) February 6, 2026

Speaking ahead of the ambassador’s address, Cairns received applause from her party members when she criticised the government for its slow pace in enacting the legislation. She told her members that no one was buying the government’s “excuses”. 

In her speech to SocDem members this evening, the ambassador called for the Occupied Territories Bill to be passed. 

Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid speaking at the Social Democrats National Conference this evening. Christina Finn Christina Finn

“My people will never leave [Palestine],” she told the attendees at the conference tonight. Speaking about the peace agreement, she said “a ceasefire doesn’t mean no accountability”.

“We strive for a just and lasting peace routed in international law,” she said, adding: 

“We deserve life and we will fight for life.”