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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
Chapter 2: What legislation is being proposed regarding Israeli settlements?
Well, the government is moving closer to banning the importation of goods from Israeli settlements with legislation set to go before Cabinet this morning, having had coalition approval overnight. I'm joined now by Deputy Political Editor at the Irish Examiner, Paul Hosford, for more on what's coming before Cabinet today. Good morning, Paul.
Good morning, Clare.
So has this been moving at pace over the last few days because of what happened and the treatment of those who were on the flotilla and taken to Israel last week?
Yeah, so I suppose if you talk to people in government, they say that this was always going to happen. This was always progressing. But it's been 18 months since the government came to power. The Occupied Territories Bill was a large part of the 2024 bill. general election, all parties kind of rode in behind it. It's part of the programme for government.
But last week, the treatment of particularly the Irish activists on the Samud flotilla and the, I suppose, the behaviour of Israel's national security minister, Idmar Ben-Gavir, which I suppose were widely condemned here has definitely upped the pace so today the Occupied Territories Bill will come before Cabinet with the Government planning to have it enacted before July.
And is that likely do you think?
I think getting any piece of legislation across the line in that kind of tighter window is always difficult but I think if you look at what was kind of or what they're aiming to do is basically to amend Section 14 of the Customs Act in 2015. I think that
The kind of indication that I was given yesterday was that it was just that that was more straightforward than effectively trying to, I suppose, build a bill from scratch in a lot of ways. So I think it's possible. I think the government will definitely want to have done it. I think there's more pressure now than there was.
I think the issue of Israel and Gaza was particularly pronounced over the last 18 months. And then last week really kind of exploded back into the consciousness of a lot of people. So I think it will be something that they will look to do. But like I said, it's a very, very tight window. So it will be interesting to see if they can get it over the line before the dollar rises at the end of July.
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Chapter 3: How has recent events influenced the government's actions?
Yeah, the government has always kind of cautioned that going that far or services will be legally restricted. really difficult is what the Taoiseach has kind of intimated, that this is just, it would have been kind of too widespread or too, I suppose, too onerous or legally complex to do that.
I think when you look at what the bill does, realistically it's going to ban about €400,000 worth of trade, which is not a massive amount, but I suppose the principle of it is what Francis Black was working towards when she introduced this first in 2018. It's important to remember that this bill has been knocking around for eight years.
Now, also mentioned last week, and I wonder whether now that we're at this point where the Occupied Territory Bill looks as though it's going to go through, will Ireland be pushing for an examination of the EU-Israel Association Agreement?
Because Micheál Martin did raise that as an issue last week when the members of the Flotilla were being treated in the way that they were and when we all had sight of that video. So have you any idea as to where that is at or whether the Irish government will be pushing an EU conversation on that, Paul?
Yeah, well, I don't think that this, I think these two things are kind of separate in a lot of ways, where the government sees the EU Association Agreement and the EU's preferential treatment of Israel as a trading partner and the Irish, I suppose, the Irish treatment of goods from the occupied territories as two separate things. There's no indication that Ireland will not ask the EU for
an examination of that association agreement Micheál Martin wrote to the European Commission last week, asking for that to be on the agenda at an EU summit next month. And I don't think that the Irish government is going to, I suppose, come back or pull back from that position. I think they will definitely want to keep it on the agenda.
Micheál Martin's been very clear that he would like to see the EU and the EU27, particularly acting concert on this and work as one. And I just don't know if that's possible at an EU leadership level, but it is something that they will continue to push for.
Paul, thank you very much.
Paul Hosford there, who's Deputy Political Editor at the Irish Examiner.
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