AG advice could be used to 'undermine' bill - Martin

The Government is "prepared to go the full distance" on the Occupied Territories Bill, including through the European courts, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has insisted.

However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs warned the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence that the bill's prospects may be harmed were the Government to give the committee the legal advice it has received.

Committee Chair Charlie Flanagan said that it is "imperative" that some mechanism be found to allow the committee to look at the advice which the Attorney General has given the Cabinet.

Mr Martin responded that a "challenge" lies in the "very, very comprehensive" nature of the advice, which could be used by those who are opposed to the bill.

"It points up potential lines of attack from people who might want to undermine the bill," he warned.

"The Attorney General is very upfront in saying - I can say this much - it's not without legal risk. What we're doing this is not a slam dunk," Mr Martin revealed.

He added that he believes that the bill could be enacted, but not quickly.

"So, it can be done, we're satisfied - and we're going to do it, and we're going to progress this," he said.

"But it's not something that can be done in a short space of time."

It must be strengthened and made "more robust", he added, as it will likely face legal challenges.

The new Dáil can commit the bill to committee straight away, Mr Martin said, but urged that people be realistic about what it can achieve.

"Passing this bill will not stop Israel's behaviour," he cautioned, calling for honesty with the Irish people about the impact it will have.

American concerns over multinationals

Asked about a story on The Ditch website, Mr Martin said: "I haven't talked to the US ambassador on this bill".

He later added: "Now, I haven't met anyone personally, but I've no doubt the US Ambassador could have been in touch."

Mr Martin said that "there will be American concerns around multinationals getting embroiled in this inadvertenly".

"There are issues. It's not that there's any influence," he added.

"It's the role of embassies," he noted, "to make representations to member states".

Mr Martin said that his views about The Ditch website are well known, and that he considers it to be "as much a political organisation as well as anything else".

"And it has its views," he said. "But I think it can also contrive how it reports things."

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy condemned the delays to the passage of the bill as "unacceptable in the highest order" and "cynical in the extreme".

"You should be ashamed of your party's actions in this," he told the Tánaiste.

'Substantive amendment' needed

Micheál Martin told the committee that the advisory opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice in July has changed the legal context for the Occupied Territories Bill.

The bill "in its present form is incompatible with EU law and the Constitution, so in its present form, it is unconstitutional," Mr Martin said.

"The amendments required are not merely technical in nature.

"The Government's analysis is that substantive amendment will be required to most - if not all - of the bills provisions."

Deputy Carthy noted that the author of the bill, Independent Senator Frances Black, said that only "small, technical changes" were needed.

Senator Black told the committee that she will be "holding every candidate, every TD and every party to their promises" to make the bill become law after the general election.

Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland appointed for first time

The Cabinet has appointed a full Ambassador of Palestine to Ireland for the first time, following a recommendation by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.

The appointment of Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, who is the current Palestinian Head of Mission to Ireland, comes after the Government decision last May to recognise the State of Palestine.

Formal diplomatic relations between Ireland and the State of Palestine were established on 29 September, through an exchange of diplomatic notes.

On 17 October, the government of the State of Palestine formally notified the Department of Foreign Affairs of its intention to change Palestine's representation in Ireland to a resident Embassy under the Vienna Convention.

The Government first approved the establishment of a Palestinian Delegation in Dublin in late 1993.

Early in 2011, the then government upgraded the status of the delegation to "Palestinian Mission" and the title of the Delegate-General to "Ambassador-Head of Mission".

The upgrade in status of the Palestinian Mission to that of a resident Embassy means that the diplomatic mission will now have the full range of privileges and immunities applicable under the Vienna Convention.

Opposition TDs call for passage of Occupied Territories Bill

Meanwhile, members of Opposition have called for the immediate passage into law of the Occupied Territories Bill.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald demanded that the Government's "game-playing" over the legislation stop and claimed that Taoiseach Simon Harris cannot be trusted on the issue.

"And I think it's really disgraceful - having conceded the need for this legislation, and as people are slaughtered - that you delay, dither and prevaricate on this most serious of matters," she said.

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said: "We can see this passed into law this week.

"As the slaughter continues in Gaza and in Lebanon it's vital, Taoiseach, that we in this house, we in this country, can enact meaningful sanctions upon Israel, to try and stop the slaughter."

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said her party has "offered two hours on Thursday to help enact this bill".

"Inaction in the face of genocide is complicity," she said, adding that the public "want concrete action on this, not promises before an election".

Ms Cairns was joined by People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett in asking the Taoiseach to respond to claims published in The Ditch website that the US Ambassador had contacted the Tánaiste on the matter.

Mr Boyd Barrett accused the Government of "kowtowing" to the United States.

Independent TD Thomas Pringle also urged that the bill be passed.

Simon Harris responded by first saying that the appointment of an Ambassador from Palestine is an "important" step.

"I get the sense that there is now a consensus across Government and Opposition that we would like to see legislation passed in relation to this - but we'd also like to see legislation passed that isn't going to fall at the first hurdle, that isn't going to fall in the European courts."

Additional reporting: Mícheál Lehane