O'Gorman: Government 'kicking the down the road' with Occupied Territories Bill
The Green Party leader said the distinction which is being raised by the Government between products and services is a new issue that "has been brought in subsequent to the general election".
The attempt to create a distinction between goods and services is concerning, Mr O'Gorman said.
The Government are seeking to kick the can down the road after having made extensive promises about passing the bill during the election campaign, he said.
"The Attorney General provided, last July, a very detailed assessment of Senator Frances Black's bill, raised some issues — some legitimate issues that can be addressed by amendments — there was no reference to an issue around services in his very detailed legal advice," Mr O'Gorman told RTÉ One's The Week in Politics.
There is no disagreement that amendments need to be made to the bill, he said, but there is no reason why the bill cannot be passed ahead of the Dáil summer recess "if there was the will".
At a time when the world has been put on notice that Israel intends to ethnically cleanse Gaza, Ireland has the opportunity to act, Mr O'Gorman said but instead the Government has only said it would publish a draft of the bill before the summer break, not pass it.
The passing of the bill would reverberate internationally, the Dublin TD said, and it would mark a significant change in approach.
Speaking on the same programme, Sinn Féin TD John Brady called on the Government to publish the Attorney General's advice to allow people to see for themselves whether or not there was a legal issue raised in terms of banning services from the occupied territories.
Speaking at the annual James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill on Sunday, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said there is going to be a concerted attempt across the opposition parties to push the Government "even harder" to pass it as soon as possible.
Ms Bacik said she would like to see the bill passed before the autumn saying "we have waited long enough".
"The outgoing Government last year and indeed, Simon Harris, seemed to commit himself to passage of the bill so we will be pressing to have some further progress before the summer," she said.
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: Third-level fee rise sparks backlash — but who is really hardest hit?
For most of the week, a cohort of middle Ireland was on RTÉ's Liveline. Joe is no longer there to talk to, so they made do with Philip. And boy, did they have a lot to get off their chests. The topic that has got many people angry enough to pick up the phone is what looks like an increase in third-level fees. This payment is called a 'registration fee'. It stood at €3,000 but was reduced in 2022 to €2,000 as a cost of living measure. This was one of a number of supports provided by the Government to offset steep inflation. Then, this week, the minister for higher education James Lawless, let it be known that the fee will revert to €3,000 in the next budget. Cue outrage. It should be noted that the Government is being hoist on its own petard. Once the reduction was introduced there was no way it was going to be clawed back until the election was done and dusted. Those who send their children to third-level are the heart of the electorate. They needed some loving if they were to do the right thing at the ballot box. Now the returned Government is learning that unless you want to be reckless, there arrives a reckoning. What they giveth before the election, they taketh away once returned to the pig's back. Opposition The first strand of opposition to the measure came from, well, within the Government. Fine Gael are all against it. A primary reason for this is that one area where the party is wildly popular is the fee-paying second-level sector, from which practically 100% of Leaving Cert students go onto third-level. (Nationally the figure is around 75%). Those parents are willing to fork out up €8,000 annually to give their children the best start and advantage possible, and that is laudable. 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Did the government think money grew on trees, or maybe in the flower boxes at the windows of her various properties? So it went in the last days of the suspended reality that informed the Celtic Tiger years. Financial impact Any increase in taxes or fees or charges is going to have an impact on a cohort of the population. That goes without saying. For some people this impact might reverberate in the weekly food shopping, which is pretty devastating, particularly when there are children involved. For others, quite possibly, it might demand a rethink of various holiday plans. And, for more again, the impact might be on a lifestyle that has come to be considered a right rather than, in any element, a luxury. Just a few facts might be noteworthy in terms of the debate this week. A household must be earning at least €115,000 to be liable for the full registration fee. That's not a huge sum these days, but it is over twice the average industrial wage. 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Certainly, some allowance should be made there, but beyond that, are we talking real hardship for a considerable number of people? Is it all about who shouts the loudest on air, delivering narratives that are heavy with emotion but simply cannot be verified? There was no outrage recently when the CSO published its latest Survey of Income and Living Standards which revealed that over a quarter of a million children are experiencing 'enforced deprivation'. These children are defined as living in a household that was unable to afford the goods and services which are considered the minimum essentials for a decent standard of living such as being able to buy a winter coat, afford a new pair of shoes or being able to replace broken furniture. These children, in all likelihood, will never have to worry about third-level education, not to mind registration fees. According to the ESRI, childhood poverty increases the chances of 'greater interaction with the criminal justice system', and is also associated with 'lower third-level education and higher rates of unemployment in adulthood'. Should children in these circumstances be given any kind of priority when it comes to deciding how best to spend public money? Apart from priorities, a whole range of financial watchdogs and monitors have asserted that the State is underfunded. This is definitely the case in third-level education. Infrastructure to support home building is particularly bad, but extra funds will also be required to tackle an aging population and the ravages of climate change. Where is that money going to come from? At the rate we're going it won't be from those at the heart of the electorate who shout the loudest. We live in difficult and uncertain times. There are various problems and challenges across society, some life-defining, others worrying and yet more capable of heightening public anger. But are priorities to be decided exclusively on who is best at utilising the media, at threatening politicians to withdraw support, at knowing how to play the system? If that continues to be the defining compass in determining policy there will be a bigger cost to pay in the future. And it won't be just those at the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder who will be paying it.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Beware this new race to the bottom of the ocean
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Thousands of newspapers around the globe have closed, and many thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. While this produces a tune on the world's smallest violin from some politicians, those losses are a worry for democracy and a threat to the common wealth. Even as the bill has been progressing it has been marked by litigation which proved again that defending an action by a libel claimant is a precarious pastime. This week, Ryan Casey, the partner of murdered schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, won substantial damages from the BBC after it broadcast a discussion about the content of his victim impact statement in its Northern Ireland political programme The View. It was the second court defeat in Ireland in recent weeks for the corporation after Gerry Adams won damages of €100,000 in a case which incurred costs of between €3m-€5m. These eye-watering sums would drive many publishers out of business. Ireland's new bill includes a public interest defence provided statements are published in good faith and reasonable enquiries and checks have been made prior to publication. Such an argument has never been successfully run in the Republic. Whether there is a queue of editors lining up to be the first to test its efficacy is questionable, but there must be protections for honest journalism and enquiry, particularly at a local level where resources are stretched to the thinnest. Read More Irish Examiner view: Free bets escalate gambling problems
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Hamas give 'positive' response on ceasefire proposal, Palestinian official says
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Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city overnight, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers. Later on, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight. "There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother," said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she said. "He went to get aid, so he can get a bag of flour for us to eat. He got a bullet in his neck. It killed him on the spot," she said. Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed in Gaza. "Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don't want want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war." In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US Embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Mr Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives. Demonstrators set up a symbolic Sabbath dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Mr Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THEHOSTAGES BACK!!!" The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from this evening to tomorrow night, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner. "Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal," said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv. Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October7, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity. Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Mr Netanyahu to return from meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages. "Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace... one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial," he said, also appealing to Mr Trump. Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than 2 million and triggering widespread hunger. More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials. UN says 613 killed near aid points and humanitarian convoys in Gaza The UN human rights office said it had recorded at least 613 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups including the UN. A spokesperson for the UN office said it is clear that Israel has "shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points". The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. "We have recorded 613 killings, both at GHF points and near humanitarian convoys - this is a figure as of June 27. Since then ... there have been further incidents," Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. "It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points," she added. "How many killings? Who is responsible for that? We need an investigation. We need access. We need an independent inquiry, and we need accountability for these killings." The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites. Of the 613 people killed, 509 were killed near the GHF distribution points, the OHCHR said. The OHCHR said its figure is based on a range of sources such as information from hospitals, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs, and its partners on the ground. It said it is verifying further reports and cannot yet give a breakdown of where they were killed. The GHF previously claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians in five weeks, and claimed other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted". Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on 19 May.
