There are no concrete details about what changes will occur, and when this will happen.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has confirmed over the weekend, at a special Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis held to ratify the new programme for government, that the Occupied Territories Bill will be scrapped and replaced with a new piece of legislation. According to Martin, the bill is being scrapped due to legal concerns. He stated that “virtually every section” of the Occupied Territories Bill would need to be amended, and therefore, it is going to be redrafted.

“I instructed my officials prior to the general election to work on amendments to the then-Occupied Territories Bill. All that work has been done, and in fact, every single line—well, not every single line—but virtually every section of that bill will have to be amended. So the issue is whether we have a new bill, which I think we probably will move towards, a new bill in respect of imports into Ireland from the occupied territories because I think it needs a full debate in the Dáil at the second stage.”

The Occupied Territories Bill seeks to prohibit trade with and economic support for illegal settlements in territories deemed occupied under international law. While the bill has garnered significant political support and passed through both the Seanad and the Dáil, it was stalled due to concerns about compatibility with EU trade regulations. However, legal analyses released in October last year by prominent EU law experts, including Takis Tridimas and Panos Koutrakos, affirmed that Ireland can enact the bill without breaching EU law, as member states are permitted to deviate from trade rules for public policy reasons, particularly when fundamental rights are at stake. The bill was further bolstered by a recent ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal and that states must avoid economic dealings that entrench these settlements. Advocates for the bill argued that passing it would position Ireland as a leader in upholding international law and addressing the ongoing injustices in Palestine.

In light of these developments around the election last year, every single major party promised to enact the Occupied Territories Bill should they be elected—including Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Martin’s move to scrap the bill and replace it has been criticised as another attempt to stall its enactment, and break a key manifesto promise. When asked if the new legislation would be watered down, he stated: “When you say watered down, I mean, no. In terms of the legislation, it is acknowledged by all sides that the bill was unconstitutional as drafted and, in other areas, was deficient.”

There were recent reports in the Mail on Sunday that the Occupied Territories Bill was going to be scrapped because of fears that it might damage Ireland’s diplomatic and corporate relations with the US. In response to this, Martin stated: “I’m not responsible for that report.”

Only time will tell what the new bill might look like and when—or indeed if—it’s going to be put into effect.

Elsewhere on District: It’s Time To Pass The Occupied Territories Bill