Richard Boyd Barrett: Drop the Guillotine on Occupied Territories Bill
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Taoiseach in the Dáil, accusing the government of speaking with double standards on sanctions against Israel and of neutering the Occupied Territories Bill. He demanded the government abandon a planned guillotine and allow full debate on sanctions and the bill.
Allegation of double standards
Richard Boyd Barrett accused the government of opposing boycott measures while simultaneously stripping the Occupied Territories Bill of meaningful effect. He said this combination amounts to signalling support for action in words but blocking it in practice.
Concerns about the Occupied Territories Bill
Barrett detailed how amendments and procedural moves leave the bill without serious impact. He argued that the bill, as currently being handled, will not deliver the sanctions or accountability that some Dáil members and many constituents expect.
Objection to the guillotine
Barrett criticised the plan to impose a guillotine on debate, saying it is being used to avoid exposure and to silence contributions. He called on the government to drop the guillotine and permit a proper, open debate on sanctions against Israel and the bill's future.
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Taoiseach, the government is speaking out of both sides of its mouth on the question of sanctions against Israel over its crimes against the Palestinians. You won't support the boycott and you're gutting the Occupied Territories Bill so it will effectively have no serious impact and then you want to impose a guillotine tomorrow on the debate because you don't want to be exposed on the government. So the guillotine on the Occupied Territories Bill, we've got this confirmed but it can't correlate. So you're not allowing the many people who would want to contribute to the debate about imposing sanctions on Israel and how you're gutting that bill in the way you are. So please drop the guillotine and allow for proper debate on that bill.
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