Hi everyone, 

Thank you for signing our petition last week which now has over 8,000 signatures. When you completed the survey, you indicated that you would like to hear from us on follow up actions, which is why I’m writing to you today. 

As you may have seen, last week the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) started its scrutiny of the Government version of the Occupied Territories Bill. Last week’s sessions can be watched back here. It is expected that there will be two final sessions this week. 

Once all sessions are done the Committee will work quickly on finalising a report summarising its views and making formal recommendations back to Government. This is currently expected to happen next week. 

We need this report to state strongly that the Committee wants services included in the Bill, and with your help we hope it can. 

The report will be finished and published very quickly, before the Dáil goes into summer recess on Thursday July 17th. 

This timeline is tight, so the Committee has deliberately decided not to hold a long series of in-person sessions. They have instead opened a public call for submissions. It’s really important that they receive a lot of submissions calling for services to be included in the Bill so we are encouraging you to make a submission to the consultation. 

The deadline is 5pm on Wednesday 9th July. They simply need to be emailed to foreignaffairs@oireachtas.ie.

What to put in a submission

If you are tight for time a submission can be short. The most important thing is that a submission goes in making clear that you support a ban on all trade with the illegal Israeli settlements, both goods and services, and that you urge the Government to meet the standard set in the original Occupied Territories Bill and in the ICJ Advisory Opinion of last year. 

It would be worth specifically stating that eminent legal experts have made clear to the Committee that there is a very strong argument under EU law that services can be included, therefore we are calling on Government to do this, and then to argue the legal case at EU level if necessary. 

If anyone would like suggestions or draft material for a submission, all the information you need is here.

Lastly, keep in mind that the FAC is not examining the original OTB which was tabled by Senator Frances Black in 2018, but the Government's new version published last week. The Government Bill, as it currently stands, focuses only on goods and is available here. 

Title submission

It is best to mark or title your submission as follows: Submission for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025. 

We understand that the turnaround time on this is quite short but even a short submission can make a difference. Please also feel free to share this call with anyone you know who would be interested. 

Best of luck and if you have questions let us know.

Kind regards,

Kevin Donoghue 

Director of Campaigns