Ireland's proposed law banning trade with Israeli settlements postponed until after November election

Occupied Territories Bill, which has been subject to political wrangling for years, could be in place by early 2025

Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris has overseen the passing of important legislation. PA

The Republic of Ireland will wait until after the November 29 general election to pass a proposed law that would curtail trade with Israeli settlements in Palestine, despite late pressure from opposition parties before the dissolution of parliament in Dublin this week.

Prime Minister Simon Harris called the election with his Fine Gael party riding high in the polls. He will seek the dissolution of the Dail, Ireland’s parliament, when he visits Aras an Uachtarain, the official residence of President Michael D Higgins, on Friday.

The highly anticipated announcement will formally start a three-week campaign. The situation in the Middle East is expected to be one of the issues in the election, with many voters demanding an even tougher stance on Israel in response to continuing violence in Gaza.

Ireland's deputy prime minister Micheal Martin has said that the wording of Occupied Territories Bill, which is the result of years of political wrangling, is being revised with expectation that it will be passed after the general election.

The opposition has urged the government to pass the bill before an election is held, with Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats offering time in the Dail this week to do so, amid claims that it was deliberately trying to slow the passing of the law'.

The law, which was first tabled in 2018, has been frozen for several years on concerns that it did not comply with EU law. However, an advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice in the summer declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal under international law prompting renewed calls to pass the bill.

Mr Martin, who also serves as Foreign Minister, said the amendments would be ready for the next government.

If passed, the law would make Ireland the first EU country to outlaw goods and services from settlements. Campaigners hope Ireland's decision will inspire similar action in other pro-Palestine EU countries such as Spain, Luxembourg and Belgium, possibly paving the way for an EU-wide ban.

On Thursday, Irish politicians also passed a non-binding motion agreeing that “genocide is being perpetrated before our eyes by Israel in Gaza”.

The motion, which fell for debate on the last day the house was sitting, said “legal and moral duty to do whatever we can to prevent” genocide in Gaza.

Mr Martin said Ireland also intends to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide before the end of the year.

South Africa filed a case in December 2023 to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) saying Israel has a “special intent to commit genocide” against Palestinians.

Ireland repeatedly said it would file a declaration of intervention with the ICJ once South Africa filed its memorial in the case, which it did on Monday last week.

Mr Martin said on Thursday that Ireland will intervene by “the end of the year”, putting forward a strict interpretation of the Genocide Convention. Israel has until July 28 to file a counter-argument to South Africa’s memorial.

“The government’s decision to intervene in the South African case was based on detailed and rigorous legal analysis,” said Mr Martin. “Ireland is a strong supporter of the work of the court and is deeply committed to international law and accountability.”

Ireland on September 29 officially recognised Palestine as a state, a move that resulted in Israel recalling its ambassador to Dublin, Dana Erlich.

This week, Dr Wahba Abdalmajid was officially appointed Palestine's ambassador to Ireland as a result of the move to recognise statehood. In turn, Ireland will have its presence in the Ramallah upgraded from a mission to an embassy.

Jennifer Whitmore, Social Democrats TD, said it was “not true” the government was using all tools at its disposal to bring about an end to hostilities.

She said the government was “afraid to use the term genocide” in relation to the conflict.

Her party colleague Gary Gannon described the government’s decision to not oppose or directly support the motion as a form of “Schrodinger’s cowardice”.

Mr Harris who, like his predecessors is referred to as the Taoiseach, and is vocally critical of Israel, has overseen the passing of important pieces of legislation and said he was looking forward to starting the campaign. The highly anticipated announcement will formally start a campaign that will last a matter of weeks.

The election will end the historic coalition which was formed in mid-2020, bringing together Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in an agreement which ended a rivalry dating to the Civil War a century ago.

The talks to form a government were held over five months, influenced by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris in Brussels, on October 17, 2024. AFP

Joining with the Greens to hold a majority in the Dail, ministries were divided across the parties and an agreement for a “rotating taoiseach” was formed.

It involved Mr Martin, the Fianna Fail leader, taking the Taoiseach role for the first half of the lifetime of the government, later replaced by then-Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar.

Mr Harris became Taoiseach earlier this year after Mr Varadkar decided to step away from his stewardship of the party.

The lifetime of the government has been characterised by its response to several challenges, from the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the inability to accommodate rising numbers of asylum seekers and compounding pressures in housing – including record levels of homelessness.

More recently, the government has faced criticism for its public spending after it emerged €336,000 had been spent on a bike shed at the parliament, on top of other issues such as the spiralling cost of a multibillion-euro children’s hospital in Dublin.

It also suffered a knock when referendums it put forward were overwhelmingly rejected by the public in early 2024.

However, government figures applauded a range of measures for families, including reducing the cost of childcare, the introduction of hot school meals and free schoolbooks as policies.

They also point to efforts to accommodate of more than 100,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine and the overall management of the public purse as among its successes.

Simon Harris will face Fianna Fáil's Micheal Martin, above, in the election on November 29. PA

The election comes shortly after what was characterised as a “giveaway budget”, which included additional child benefit, pension, and other social welfare payments occurring before polling day.

The results of the last election left Fianna Fail with a narrow seat lead ahead of Sinn Fein and Fine Gael. Sinn Fein had the highest percentage of first-preference votes, but came in second ahead of Fine Gael.

It was seen as both a monumentally successful result for Sinn Fein, the largest opposition party, and among the worst performances for the other two major parties.

At the time, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald faced criticism for not running more candidates which would have capitalised on its large share of first-preference votes.

Since then, Sinn Fein has admitted that it achieved worse-than-expected results in local and European elections in the Republic of Ireland – which took place earlier this year.

The challenge for the government parties, particularly Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, will be putting forward a convincing message on policies that distinguishes them from their erstwhile colleagues.

However, members of the coalition will be buoyed by a string of controversies that have beset Sinn Fein in recent weeks.

Ms McDonald addressed the Dail on a series of scandals, including former party members writing job references for a colleague who was later convicted of child sex crimes.